Nearly 200 Kazakh Students Stranded in Los Angeles After Travel Agency Failure

Roughly 200 Kazakhstani university students participating in the "Work and Travel" program were left stranded in Los Angeles without money, lodging, or transport. The travel agency organizing their pre-departure vacation failed to deliver promised services and abruptly abandoned the tour mid-trip.

Under their initial agreements, each participant paid $1,100 to the agency. That fee was supposed to cover hotel accommodations in two cities, ground transfers, and guided excursions. However, the charter bus traveling from San Francisco toward Los Angeles turned around mid-route, stranding the group before reaching their destination.

Left without assistance, the students faced severe hardships in a foreign country. Some were forced to pack six people into double-occupancy hotel rooms, while others slept inside the airport. One student reportedly lost personal documents at the airport. Running low on funds, participants had to spend an additional $600 to $700 out-of-pocket to manage basic necessities. Affected students, including a group from Karaganda, are demanding full financial reimbursement and compensation from the organizers.

The travel agency involved, Easy Travel, issued an official statement accepting partial responsibility for the ordeal. Company representatives acknowledged a lack of proper oversight, while claiming that the transport vendor's sudden cancellation was partly triggered by the behavior of certain participants. The agency stated it is actively communicating with affected parties to resolve the matter.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has intervened in the situation. The Consulate General of Kazakhstan in San Francisco is assisting the students with legal and logistical support. A portion of the group has already returned safely to Kazakhstan, while efforts to repatriate the remaining students are ongoing.