Resources

The Au Pair program allows foreign nationals to live with an American family for a minimum of 12 months while providing childcare and attending at least 6 hours of academic credit at a U.S. college or university. This position requires up to 10 hours a day or 45 hours a week of childcare. Applicants must:

• Be proficient in English
• Be between 18 to 26 years old
• Be in good physical health
• Have a secondary school education
• Have received a job offer from a family
• Have previous childcare experience
• Have an international driver’s license 
• Successfully pass a police background check
• Cannot have previously been an au pair in the U.S.

The Camp Counselor program allows foreign nationals to work at summer camps for a maximum of 4 months. This position provides housing and meals as well as pay. Applicants must:

• Be proficient in English
• Be at least 18 years old
• Be a post-secondary student, youth worker, teacher or individual with specialized skills 
• Have experience working with children

The College or University Student program allows foreign nationals to study at a U.S. college or university for a maximum of 24 months. They can also participate in a student internship that is related to their field of study and fulfills the objectives of their degree program in their home country. Foreign nationals can study in degree granting programs or non-degree granting programs. Applicants must:

• Be enrolled full-time
• Not be financed personally, through family or friends. Finances can be directly or indirectly from the U.S. government, their home country government or an international organization that is a U.S. member
• Have a written agreement between the two governments (U.S. and home country) or the two educational institutions (U.S. university and home country university)

The Government Visitor program allows distinguished foreign nationals to develop and strengthen both professional and personal international relationships for a maximum of 18 months. They can attend conferences, workshops, professional meetings, consultations and trainings. Applicants must:

• Be selected by a U.S. federal, state or local government agency 
• Be an influential or distinguished person

The Intern program allows foreign nationals to participate in a structured and guided work-based internship program at a U.S. business in their academic field for a maximum of 12 months. Applicants must:

• Be proficient in English
• Be enrolled full-time in a post-secondary university outside the U.S. OR have graduated from a post-secondary university outside the U.S in the last 12 months

Internship Programs Must Be in One of the Following Categories:

• Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Arts and Culture
• Construction and Building Trades
• Education, Social Sciences, Library Science, Counseling and Social Services
• Health Related Occupations
• Hospitality and Tourism
• Information Media and Communications
• Management, Business, Commerce and Finance
• Public Administration and Law
• The Sciences, Engineering, Architecture, Mathematics and Industrial Occupations

The International Visitor program allows foreign nationals to participate in people-to-people programs with the goal of developing and strengthening personal and professional ties between key foreign nationals and Americans and American institutions for a maximum of 12 months. Applicants must:

• Be selected by the U.S. Department of State
• Be a recognized or potential leader in a field of specialized knowledge or skill

The Physician program allows foreign nationals to participate in U.S. graduate medical programs or training at U.S. medical schools for a maximum of 7 years. Applicants must:

• Be proficient in written and oral English
• Provide a statement of need from their government. This should state the need in the home country for people with the skills that will be learned in the U.S. graduate medical program and that the foreign national will return home upon completion of the program
• Have adequate training and prior education for the program in which they are enrolling
• Provide an official agreement or contract stating acceptance into the medical program
• Have passed either Parts I and II of the National Board of Medical Examiners Examination, Steps I and II of the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination or the Visa Qualifying Examination (VQE)

The Professor program allows foreign nationals to teach, lecture, observe or consult at a post-secondary school, library, museum or similar institution for a maximum of 5 years. This program promotes the exchange of ideas, research and mutual enrichment between research and academic institutions in the U.S. and foreign countries. Applicants must:

• Be proficient in written and oral English
• Not be a candidate for a tenure track position
• Not have participated in or completed another professor program in the past 24 months 
• Not have participated in a J-1 visa program for the 12 month period preceding the program start date unless: they are currently in a J-1 program and are transferring in, the previous program was less than 6 months or the previous program was a short-term scholar

The Research Scholar program allows foreign nationals to research, observe or consult in connection with a research project at a post-secondary school, library, museum, corporate research facility or other similar institution for a maximum of 5 years. This program promotes the exchange of ideas, research and mutual enrichment between research and academic institutions in the U.S. and foreign countries. Applicants must:

• Be proficient in written and oral English
• Not be a candidate for a tenure track position
• Not have participated in or completed another professor program in the past 24 months 
• Not have participated in a J-1 visa program for the 12 month period preceding the program start date unless: they are currently in a J-1 program and are transferring in, the previous program was less than 6 months or the previous program was a short-term scholar

The Secondary School Student program allows foreign nationals to study at a public or private high school in the U.S. and live with an American host family or at a boarding school for a maximum of 1 academic school year. Foreign nationals are not permitted to live with family members while on this program. Applicants must:

• Be between 15 and 18.5 years old at the start of the program
• Not have finished more than 11 years of primary and secondary school (excluding kindergarten)
• Not have previously participated in a secondary school exchange program

The Short-Term Scholar program allows foreign nationals who are professors, research scholars and other individuals to lecture, consult, observe, train or demonstrate special skills at museums, libraries, research institutions, post-secondary schools or similar institutions in the U.S for a maximum of 6 months. Applicants must:

• Be a professor or research scholar or someone with similar experience and/or education

The Specialist program allows foreign nationals with specialized knowledge or skills to observe, consult or demonstrate their knowledge or skills to promote the exchange of ideas for a maximum of 1 year. This category is intended for experts in the areas of environmental science, mass media communication, youth leadership, international educational exchange, labor law, museum exhibitions, public administration and library science. Applicants must:

• Be experts in the field of specialized knowledge or skill 
• Not fill a permanent or long-term position of employment

The Summer Work Travel program allows foreign nationals to work and travel in seasonal and/or temporary jobs during their summer vacation from university for a maximum of 4 months. Jobs in this category must have a cultural component which allows the foreign national to experience American culture. Common employers in this category are restaurants, hotels, resorts, amusement parks, souvenir shops and tourist attractions. Applicants must:

• Be proficient in English
• Be enrolled full-time in a post-secondary university outside of the U.S.
• Have completed at least one semester of post-secondary education outside of the U.S.
• Have received a job offer from a U.S. company (unless from a visa waiver country)

The Teacher program allows foreign nationals to teach in primary and secondary schools in the U.S. for a maximum of 3 years. Exchange teachers are able participate in cross-cultural activities in school and the local community in which they will be teaching. Applicants must:

• Be proficient in English
• Have a minimum of 2 years of teaching or related professional experience 
• Have a degree equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree in education or the academic subject they plan to teach 
• Meet the state specific requirements 
• Meet the home country’s requirement for teaching at primary and secondary schools
• Be working as a teacher in their home country or have completed an advanced degree in the past 12 months and have 2 years of full-time teaching experience within the last 8 years

The Trainee program allows foreign nationals who are professionals to participate in a structured and guided work-based training program at a U.S. business in their respective field for a maximum of 18 months. Agriculture, Hospitality and Tourism programs have a maximum of 12 months. Applicants must:

• Be proficient in English
• Have a post-secondary degree in their respective field from a university outside the U.S. and 1 year of related work experience outside the U.S. OR have 5 years of related work experience outside the U.S. 

Training Programs Must Be in One of the Following Categories:

• Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
• Arts and Culture
• Construction and Building Trades
• Education, Social Sciences, Library Science, Counseling and Social Services
• Health Related Occupations
• Hospitality and Tourism
• Information Media and Communications
• Management, Business, Commerce and Finance
• Public Administration and Law
• The Sciences, Engineering, Architecture, Mathematics and Industrial Occupations