Career Training USA Application Instructions

Program Description | Eligibility Criteria | Additional Program Requirements | Application Instructions

Program Description

InterExchange Career Training USA is a designated sponsor of two J-1 Visa categories: Intern and Trainee. Please review our intern and trainee requirement pages to determine which program is appropriate before completing your application.

If you need help with your application, we’re here every step of the way.
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Eligibility Criteria

	Interns	Trainees
Eligibility	Currently enrolled full-time in a degree or non-vocational, professional certificate program in a college, university, or other post-secondary academic institution of higher education outside the U.S. OR;	Must hold a degree or non-vocational, professional certificate from a college, university or other post-secondary academic institution of higher education outside the U.S. and at least 1 year of related professional experience from outside the U.S. OR;
	Have graduated from such an institution no more than 12 months before program start date, and submit an application more than 8 weeks before this eligibility expires.	Have at least 5 years of related, full-time professional experience from outside the U.S.
	Interns must have finished at least 1 year of their degree program and have completed sufficient academic coursework in their academic field before their program start date in order to be sufficiently prepared for their U.S. internship.	All trainee applicants must also be able to document their current and previous related occupational experience from current/former employers outside the U.S.
Duration	Up to 12 months	Up to 18 months*
Program Focus	Internship must be directly related to academic field of study	Training program must be directly related to occupational field/work experience
Repeat Participation	Yes, if previous participant is a current student or recent graduate (current students must return to school for at least one semester before reapplying for the Intern visa)	Yes, but previous participant must wait at least 2-years after the end of a previous J-1 Intern or Trainee program before reapplying. (This applies to all participants and is not related to Rule 212(e).)

*Hospitality programs cannot exceed 12 months regardless of your visa category.

Additional Program Requirements

Understand that the purpose of this program is not to serve as a work program but a cultural exchange opportunity for interns and trainees and the employees of the host companies.

Complete an internship or training program with an eligible host employer.

IMPORTANT: Review our requirements for employers who want to host.

Complete and submit a full application, including full payment of program fees and all required supporting documents.

Be at least 18 years old.

Be interviewed in-person, over the phone, or via webcam by InterExchange or an approved InterExchange partner.

Have verifiable English language skills and possess comprehension of English terminology within your field.

Be covered by sufficient accident & sickness insurance for the length of your stay in the United States prior to your arrival, in accordance with U.S. State Department regulations. Insurance is included in your program fee and may not be declined.

Be able to prove access to sufficient funds to support themselves during their time in the USA (including housing and living costs).

NOTE: All of your sources of funding should amount to at least $1500 per month of your program. If you will not be paying for housing, the total should amount to at least $750 per month of your program

Be involved in an internship or training program in a field that InterExchange is designated to sponsor, including: Arts & Culture; Management, Business, Commerce & Finance; Hospitality & Tourism; Information Media & Communications; Public Administration & Law; and the Sciences, Engineering, Architecture, Mathematics and Industrial Occupations.

NOTE: InterExchange cannot sponsor training programs in medicine, teaching, social work, or manual labor.

Be applying for the J-1 Visa from outside the USA throughout the application and review process. If you require a change of status to obtain the J-1 Visa, you will not be eligible to apply through InterExchange.

Have not recently completed a degree and/or optional training program (OPT) within the USA.

Similarly, if you recently spent a significant amount of time in the U.S. on a visa or tourist waiver, you may not be eligible to apply at this time. Contact InterExchange to discuss your circumstances before applying.

Show that, if completing additional J-1 Intern/Trainee USA programs, they are learning new or more advanced skills in their new program than those learned in the prior J-1 Intern/Trainee USA program.

In most cases, InterExchange will not approve applicants wishing to return to the same host employer at which they completed a previous program. Candidates should contact us to discuss further if this applies.

If you are already in the USA on an InterExchange Career Training USA program, you may be eligible to extend your program. Please review our information on Extending Your J-1 Visa for additional details.

Application Instructions

Once you’ve determined that you, your employer, and your proposed internship/training program meet our eligibility criteria, you are ready to apply for J-1 Visa sponsorship.

Step 1:

Begin by inviting your host employer to the application so that they can complete their portion of the application.
- Simply click the Invite Host Employer button on the right side of your dashboard
- Enter your host company name, your supervisor’s name, and their email address.
- Your Host Employer will need to complete all sections of their application, upload the required documents, and create/sign your Training Plan.
- Once your Host Employer has signed your Training Plan, you must also sign your Training Plan to submit your applcation.

NOTE: Your supervisor must use their company email address, not a personal address.

Step 2:

Complete the Personal Information and Program Information sections listed on your dashboard.
- Once you answer all the questions in each section and click “Save”, you will see a “Complete” to the right of the section subcategory in your dashboard.

Step 3:

Upload the three documents listed in the Documents section of your application, plus any additional required documents.
- All applicants will be required to upload supplemental documents which will vary depending on the applicant’s category.
- For a complete list of which documents are required and what must be included in each document, please refer to our Required Documents page.
- All documents must be in English or translated into English by an official English translator. All translations must be accompanied by the original documents.

Step 4:

Pay the full program fee within your application.
- Full payment must be completed in order to submit your application for review.

Step 5:

Use your applicant checklist to ensure that you have submitted all the necessary information.
Submit your application into Initial Review to begin the review process.

Your Host Employer will also be required to upload some documents and complete all sections of the host employer application before your application can be considered complete. At a minimum, your employer must upload a copy of their workers compensation insurance certificate or proof of their exemption from maintaining a workers compensation insurance policy. They will also need to create a training plan, the DS-7002, within the online application that both your employer and you will need to digitally sign before you can submit your application. Your Host Employer may contact InterExchange Career Training USA with any questions regarding the application. You can track your Host Employer’s progress and review your training plan by clicking on the View Training Plan button on the right side of your application dashboard.

Our review time is approximately 10 days once we receive both a complete application and full payment. We cannot review your application until all documents and payment have been submitted. If your employer requires a site visit, the review process may take longer. See the Host Employer Requirements for more information about site visits. Three business-day expedited review is available for an additional fee.

We do not make any promise or guarantee that visa sponsorship will be granted or that you will receive a visa from the embassy or consulate. It is highly recommended that you do not purchase nonrefundable airfare prior to visa issuance.