Actual Complaint to the State Department

FROM: XXXXXXXXX

SUBJECT LUCÍA XXXXXX STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM IN ELLENSBURG, WA  

DATE  October 11, 2024  

FACTUAL BACKGROUND   Services were contracted with a Spanish company, THE FUTURE STARS INSTITUTE,  for my daughter Lucía Abad (15 years old) to carry out one academic year at an American  High School in the USA under the J1visa program, for which a payment of 14,000 Euros  was made. The Spanish company designates an American company called  ORGANIZATION FOR CULTURAL EXCHANGE AMONG NATIONS (OCEAN), supposedly authorized, with the professional quality accreditations and certifications  required by the U.S. education authority.  The company (OCEAN), with a business address at 2875 W. RAY RD. Suite 6, No. 355,  Chandler, Arizona 85224, and email info@ocean-intl.org, located in the state of Arizona,  confirms the acceptance of my daughter into the J1 program to carry out her studies in  that American country during the 2024/2025 school year. On August 2, 2024, the  company OCEAN assigns my daughter to a family in Ellensburg (Washington).  The family’s form is attached as Annex I.  Among other relevant information, in the above-mentioned form the following  information is mentioned:   1.  The economic data show an annual income between 45,000 dollars and 55,000  dollars (a discrepancy that reflects the ambiguity in the information provided by  Ocean). According to various studies on the per capita income in the state of  Washington, it is not possible to cover the annual expenses of a family composed  of six people (the host family) plus one exchange student, making a total of seven  people, since more than 100,000 dollars annually is required.  

2.  It is stated that the host family receives government subsidies based on needs for  food, which violates the base J) section 6) of the federal regulations governing the  Exchange Visitor Program, at 22 CFR Part 62., where it is clearly specified that  'Sponsors must ensure that the host family has adequate financial resources to  undertake hosting obligations and is not receiving needs-based government  subsidies for food or housing.  

In conclusion: The company OCEAN has not carried out the proper procedures,  demonstrating a total neglect of its duties, or even worse, the assignment of a family  1  through the concealment of significant data, without complying with the regulations  required to host a minor student under the J1 program in the USA, as established in the  federal regulations governing the Exchange Visitor Program, at 22 CFR Part 62.  FACTS  FIRST: On August 28, 2024, my daughter Lucía arrives in the town of Ellensburg to begin  her studies. 

From the first day my daughter (a minor) was at the host family's home, she  observed a clear lack of financial resources:   Lack of food: she was only offered one meal a day, and during the week she  stayed, they only gave her pasta. Lucía had to go to the supermarket to buy yogurt  and cookies.   Lack of access to running water and use of water from a well for consumption,  without the proper health controls. 

We had to write to the host mother to allow  Lucía to buy bottled water.   Limited use of this resource for personal hygiene showing a lack of hygiene  throughout the family.  Inside the house, there are farm animals wandering around (chickens). The house had  strong odors inside due to animal waste. 

The room assigned to her, with a carpeted floor,  had embedded dirt, torn-off nail clippings, stained walls, and emitted a strong smell,  making her stay unhealthy. 

In the bathroom assigned to her, there were dirty and torn towels (one of these dirty towels was given to Lucía for her personal hygiene).  Photographs are attached as Annex II.  

All these facts violate section j) of the federal regulations governing the Exchange  Visitor Program, at 22 CFR Part 62, where it clearly specifies the conditions that  host families must meet to participate in the program, specifically in sections 2),  4), and 6)  During the rest of my daughter's stay with the host family, several noteworthy incidents  occurred:   For two days, she had to coexist with a male friend of the host parents who was in  a state of intoxication and slept in a van.  

 The family treated Lucía unfavorably, imposing tasks on her such as taking care  of and entertaining the three minor children in the house, as well as feeding the  farm animals before going to her classes at the school.   Lucía expressed her desire to participate in extracurricular activities such as dance  and horseback riding (expenses paid by us) to the company and the host family.  However, the host mother informed Lucía that they would not take her because  she had too much homework with her children.  

 The host family took photographs of Lucía and published them on social media  (Facebook) without the consent of her biological parents. This explicitly violates  2  section m) subsection 4) of the federal regulations governing the Exchange Visitor  Program, at 22 CFR Part 62. This is attached as Annex III.  

SECOND: My minor daughter communicated these incidents to the company OCEAN and the Spanish company requesting a FAMILY CHANGE.   Simultaneously, we requested the contracted company in Spain, THE FUTURE STARS  INSTITUTE, to change the family to ensure our daughter’s well-being during her stay in the US. 

Future stars just conveyed our discontent to OCEAN without offering any solution  regarding the matter.  Staff from OCEAN communicated the complaints raised by my daughter directly to the  host family instead of conducting the necessary inspections or actions to determine the  family's situation and reassigning her to a more suitable environment, which is a clear  failure to meet the legal requirements for these situations. 

This practice and lack of  professional training generated further distress between my daughter and the host family.  The host family began to make inappropriate comments, including that 'they have hosted  a student to help with household chores and take care of their children.' (The inexperience  of this host family in hosting students can be determined).  

The host mother, along with the representatives of OCEAN (Danna and Meagan), told  my daughter to leave the J1 educational program. Lucía felt absolutely distressed, worried  and answered that she had come to enjoy an educational and personal experience and that she was not willing to quit the J1 study program.  

Lucía repeatedly asked Danna (an Ocean employee) to please to put her up with some  other family.  Danna replied that they would not do it, and that, even though Lucía was  enduring a more difficult situation than other students with the assigned family, she would  get used to it.  

WhatsApp conversations are attached as Annex IV.  The host mother and OCEAN staff N (Danna and Meagan) harassed my daughter:   They forced her to sign a document giving up any communications with her  parents, relatives, and friends, both by phone and through other electronic means.  

They told her that if she did not sign it, they would remove her from the J1 program.  

 They took away her phone and iPad (limiting her use to 1 hour on Sundays for communication with relatives and friends for 45 days). A part of the document  (photographed), which they forced my minor daughter to sign and whose full  content is unknown, is attached as Annex V.  

 They restricted her from going out alone, prevented her from communicating with  other students in the J1 program, and especially with a girl who is participating in  the same J1 program with a family located just a few meters away.  All of this violates section d) subsection 7) of the federal regulations governing the  Exchange Visitor Program, at 22 CFR Part 62, which states: 'Sponsors must ensure  exchange students have reasonable access to their natural parents and family by  telephone and e-mail.  

Considering all these events, as the parents of the minor in a precarious state,  we felt compelled to travel from Spain to Ellensburg to ensure the psychological and  physical well-being of our daughter. We sent a certified communication to the Spanish  company requesting the family change again. 

Due to the lack of solutions and of any intent to solve matters, we went to the host family's home to pick up our daughter and  safeguard her integrity. Upon arrival, the property appeared to be in a state of  abandonment, and the family, in a deplorable hygienic condition.  Upon arrival, the host mother did not let us in and asked if we had signed a document.  We had no idea what she was talking about, but we suspected she could refer to Lucia´s withdrawal from the program. 

Of course, she had not signed it as she wanted to stay in  the US. We requested the presence of staff from the company OCEAN to clarify what was going on, but no one from the company showed up. (Anyone could have taken the  minor).  

A few hours later, we received an email indicating that she had been removed from the  J1 program, leaving my daughter in a state of total abandonment and without the right to  education or healthcare in the U.S. Neither OCEAN nor the Spanish company contacted us to explain the reasons for this decision.  

During our stay in the U.S., we made several efforts to resolve the situation so that Lucía  can continue her studies in the U.S. with a suitable family.  Communication with the Highschool.  On September 5, an interview was held with staff from the school Lucía was supposed to  attend. She just was there for a day. The principal told us that OCEAN had informed them  that Lucía would not return to the center, but they did not provide any explanation  whatsoever about the circumstances that led to such a drastic measure. The principal  tried to contact OCEAN by phone but nobody answered.  The principal mentioned that Lucía still had a spot for the 2024/2025 school year and that  if she recovered her J1 visa, she could continue her studies there.  

Communication with OCEAN  

The situation was communicated to the president of OCEAN via email (they never  contacted us to provide amicable solutions to the mismanagement by their staff).  A second email was sent in which we even provided the contact information for two  4  volunteer families where Lucía could have continued her studies within the J1 Program.  (We never received a response).  Two SMS messages were sent to the numbers +1509830-8526 and +1480-297-9174,  indicating that I am Fernando XXXXX, Lucía is my daughter. I am in the U.S. and want to  speak with a representative of OCEAN, but they never got in touch with us. The emails  sent to that company are attached as Annex VI.  

Communication with THE FUTURE STARS INSTITUTE  

This situation was communicated to the Spanish company via phone, WhatsApp, certified  mail, and emails. Future stars did not provide any explanations regarding the reported  events. They sympathized with us, agreed with us in considering the situation a very  serious one, blamed OCEAN for what happened, stated that they would address it, but to  this day they have not provided any solution.  

Other institutions informed via email about the events that occurred:  Department of State for the J1 program: email jvisas@state.gov  

Board of Directors of CSIET: email mailbox@csiet.org  

Mr. Kyle Harrigan of the State Department high school department: email highschoolexchanges@state.gov  

Spanish Consulate in San Francisco: email cog.sanfrancisco@maec.es  

Mr. Harrigan from the State Department: email harrigank@state.gov  

Department of Education: email HighSchoolExchanges@state.gov  

Education Counselor for the U.S. and Canada: email jesus.fgonzalez@educacion.gob.es  

FOR ALL THE ABOVE, IT IS RECORDED/CONCLUDED.  The U.S. company OCEAN and the Spanish company THE FUTURE STARS  INSTITUTE, hired to ensure the well-being of my daughter during the 2024/2025  school/educational period within a J1 educational program in the U.S., have failed to  comply with the regulations required by the U.S. Department of Education as established  in The Federal Regulations Governing the Exchange Visitor Program, at 22 CFR Part 62,  in their articles d-7, d-12, j-2, j-4, j-6, and m-4  IT IS REQUESTED:  From the U.S. Department of Education, the cancellation in their records of the expulsion  file from the J1 educational program related to my daughter Lucía XXXXXX, executed  5  by the company OCEAN ORGANIZATION FOR CULTURE EXCHANGE, in a negligent  and abusive manner, thereby allowing her to rejoin an educational program in the U.S. under the J1/F1 programs.  

From the U.S. Department of Education, to comply with The Federal Regulations  Governing the Exchange Visitor Program, at 22 CFR Part 62, in its article d) section 1),  to request the required accreditation of the mandatory training for the local coordinator  Meagan prior to her appointment as coordinator and/or confirmation of her completion of the annual update course.  

We also suspect that the above-mentioned coordinator could also be acting as a host  family for a minor in the U.S. educational program, which would constitute a violation of  article d) section 10) of the cited regulations.  

To the U.S. Department of Education, to conduct the necessary investigations to clarify  the reported facts so that these companies (Spanish and American) do not continue to  operate with complete impunity, committing sanctionable acts by the supervisory bodies  of education in the U.S., as outlined in their various regulatory frameworks on education.  

To the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET), the revocation  of the certification for the organization ORGANIZATION FOR CULTURAL EXCHANGE  AMONG NATIONS (OCEAN) for violating The Federal Regulations Governing the  Exchange Visitor Program, at 22 CFR Part 62, in articles d-7, d-12, j-2, j-4, j-6, and m-4.  Signed Fernando XXXXXXX

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May 21, 2025 at 7:12 AM PST

CSFES Email to State Department:

U.S. Department of State

Olga O'Neil, Branch Chief

Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET)

Chris Page, Executive Director

Ms. O'Neil, this email will document that I left a message for you at 6:08 am PST.  I welcome the opportunity to speak with you.  

Mr. Page, this email will document that I left a message for you at 6:23 am PST.  I welcome the opportunity to speak with you.  

The Committee for Safety of Foreign Exchange Students (CSFES) is in receipt of your separate responses to Fernando XXXXXXXX of Spain.  Federal Regulations were violated and were not only ignored, but were immediately dismissed by you, Ms. O'Neil and by you, Mr. Page.  

Your individual responses are alarming and will be made public post haste in an effort to bring awareness.  State Department and CSIET work in concert shattering the lives of innocent families.  Understand this will not be tolerated by CSFES.

Regards,

Danielle J. Grijalva, Director
Committee for Safety of Foreign Exchange Students
660 Joshua Tree Street
Imperial, CA  92251 
760-583-9593
www.CSFES.org

cc


Consuls General of Spain

United States of America President Donald J. Trump with all attachments - Via Certified Mail
United States of America Vice President J.D. Vance
United States of America Secretary of State 

U.S. Department of State

Mr. Darren Beattie

OCEAN

Jose DuPontes

Ms. Dawna Marez

The Future Stars Institute - Spain

Emilio and Silvia 

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Actual Response from the State Department and CSIET to Fernando of Spain:

• We have dealt with a Spanish company named The Future Star Institute, who have acted as an intermediary with OCEAN, but the actual contract was signed with OCEAN. There is no contract with the Spanish agency. Attached you´ll find the contract with OCEAN. It was in English and we did not understand it as we would have in Spanish, but we had no option. 
• They took Lucía's phone away without notifying her or us, the parents, in writing. They forced Lucía to sign some documents without explaining to her what they were about. Neither did they inform us of this decision of taking her phone away from her.
• OCEAN has never contacted us, neither by phone nor by email, nor has it provided any response or solution to our emails. We have insisted to the Spanish company and OCEAN that we are NOT abandoning the J1 Program nor signing any waiver. We have requested solutions, such as changing Lucía´s  family, returning in the 2025-26 academic year, or a refund. Neither the Spanish nor the US company has done anything.
• We have received the following response from the State Department:

On February 27, 2025, Olga ONeil of The Office of Private Sector Exchange Program Administration sent us the following email:

CSIET sent us the following email and has not contacted us again.In no case have CSIET, OCEAN, or the Department of Education offered us any solution or sent us any report on the investigation they claim to have conducted.Thank you for your time.
Fernando