You Can't Travel Without Money

Greetings Volunteers. We hope this blog post finds you in good spirits as the spring season starts to peek through the rolling clouds. At the office we are falling back in to the swing of new arrivals and the joy that comes with placing new families and clients in a new and promising environment. We are using this post to shed light on a conversation topic that would be helpful to have with the Refugees with whom you share your time. The topic: Migration and Refugee Service Travel Loans.

What is the Loan?

Refugees traveling to the U.S. are issued interest-free loans by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to pay for the cost of their transportation to the U.S.  Every refugee eighteen and over signs a Promissory Note acknowledging  this loan, and the commitment to repay the loan in regular monthly payments once they are settled, usually within six months.

Why is it Important?

This loan, like any other, affects the credit of the individual who signed for the funds. This means the travel loan affects credit just the same as a car or house loan would. A default status or inability to pay the payments on time will put a negative score on the credit of the family or individual. On-time payments build a healthy and valuable positive credit score for the clients to use to their advantage in the future.

What can we do?

As volunteers helping out with the newly arriving clients, you can educate them on the importance of staying up-to-date on their loan status. This includes the following:

·         Notifying both our program and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) of any address changes made by the family or clients

·         Preparing the family for the arrival of the first bill around  the 6^th month following their arrival

·         Educating about the effects a negative credit score can have on their financial well being

It is the client’s responsibility, as stated on the promissory note, to maintain an up-to-date address and contact number with USCCB. If they fail to do this, and don’t receive the invoice for their travel loan, the IOM and United States Government can take action against the default loan. Please use this information in mind when talking with your refugee partners.  As always, thank you for your hard work and dedication and feel free to call with any questions regarding the travel loans.