Student Health & Safety

A student at a US host university travelled by car to Mexico for a vacation with her friends. While there, her passport was stolen, and she received an unsolicited offer to get her back across the border for a fee. Thankfully, this student contacted SAF. We directed her to the Mexican police to report her stolen passport and the offer to assist with illegal entry into the United States. 

SAF reported the case to the host university and successfully explored ways for her to return to the United States. 

As we had copies of her passport information page and I-20 on file, the host university could connect with the US border police to be on the lookout for the student.

SAF advises the student to return to the border where she initially crossed, explain to the border police that her passport was stolen, and provide the border officer with the filed police report and copies of her passport information page and I-20. The student re-enters the United States successfully.

At a US host university, a student with an eating disorder experienced such significant weight loss that she faced a life-threatening situation. The host university hospitalized the student but, due to language barriers, did not notify the student’s family in Asia. 

SAF communicated the severity of the situation to the student’s parents and arranged for flights to the United States, with expenses covered by SAF’s insurance policy.

Convening a behavioral intervention team in the IES Abroad’s Dean of Students Office, SAF determined that the student was not receiving the appropriate level of care at the hospital where she was first admitted, so the team requested additional medical care. Unfortunately, the hospital had insufficient eating disorder inpatient treatment programs and could not transfer the student. 

SAF notified the student’s embassy of the situation. SAF established a legal team to advocate for the student, using the IES Abroad Legal Office. This team applied pressure in the hospital's legal team, president, and CEO to facilitate an immediate transfer of the student to a better facility. Consequently, the student was transferred to one of the highest-ranked hospitals in the United States, where she received the treatment she needed before returning home with her mother. 

A SAF student expressed suicidal ideation to a faculty member at his US host university, who had him committed to the psychiatric ward of a local hospital and notified SAF of his hospitalisation. Through the SAF Japan office, SAF advised the student’s parents, who unfortunately could not travel to the United States. The host university was uncertain about how to support the student and sought SAF’s support. With medical professionals and the host university, SAF determined that the student was best served by returning to Japan. 

SAF secured the help of Flying Nurses, an organization able to assist with providing additional medical services. They checked the student out of the psychiatric ward, aided him as he packed his belongings, and accompanied him back to Japan. SAF paid for all Flying Nurses costs up-front, with the student’s medical insurance covering all expenses.