News On Turkey
Foreign Students Can Work, Travel in U.S. During Summer Break
State Department's work/travel program draws thousands of participants
23 March 2005
By Louise Fenner
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- University students from around the world can apply to work in the United States for up to four months during their summer vacation through the Summer Work/Travel Program of the U.S. State Department.
The program draws many thousands of university and post-secondary students, with the greatest number coming from Europe. In 2004, more than 88,570 students worldwide came to the United States. Many worked at hotels, restaurants, beach resorts and amusement parks across the United States. Others were employed at casinos or national parks.
The country with the most participants for the past two years has been Poland -- around 22,500 Polish students came to America in 2004.
In summer 2004, Russia sent 9,330 students to the United States on the work/travel program, according to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. A sampling of other European embassies reveals that it is a popular program: Romania sends about 3,000 students annually; Slovakia sends around 5,000. Thousands come from Ireland.
In Chisinau, Moldova, the embassy expects 600-800 applicants for the program in 2005, up from 200 in 2004. Croatia sent over 400 students in 2004. About 600 Kazakh work/travel participants headed for America in 2004, and the embassy in Almaty expects up to 1,000 applicants in 2005.
The Summer Work/Travel Program gives young people an opportunity to explore America, get to know its culture and its people, improve their English-language skills, earn money, and develop a network of international contacts.
“This program is very important for us because it provides an opportunity for thousands of young Slovaks to see the United States,” said the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava. “It is our largest student exchange program by far … . People tend to want to do it again the following year if they are still eligible.”
The U.S. Embassy in Dublin, Ireland, advertises the program on its Web site, telling applicants, “Not only will you be able to experience America's vibrant culture and make new friends, but you will also be able to teach us about Ireland and Europe.”
The program is not all work – participants are permitted to travel in the United States for up to one month.
One Polish student named Wojtek reported that in 2004 he and a friend rented a car and took a three-week-long trip driving around the eastern part of the United States. They drove nearly 7,500 miles (12,000 kilometers) “from New York City to Miami to New Orleans, from eastern shores to southern marshes and central mountain ridges … . For me, the absolute best thing was the opportunity to see, with my own eyes, places I had only seen in the movies or read about.”
The work/travel program is open to post-secondary school students attending a full-time course of study in their country of residence. When the program ends, students are expected to return home and continue their studies.
Another requirement is that they must speak English well enough to participate in their work programs.
“The kids all said they had a very positive experience in the U.S.,” reported the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, Romania. “Their employers treated them well and they found Americans to be friendly.”
Students “now have a better understanding of Americans, improved English skills and fully understand what customer service is in a market economy,” the embassy added. “Some hope to implement what they learned in their own businesses in Romania.”
In order to apply for the program, students usually contact agencies in their own countries that work with registered agencies or sponsors in the United States to place students in jobs. The local agencies often hold job fairs during the winter and spring so that applicants can be interviewed by prospective employers. A smaller percentage of students find jobs after they arrive in the United States.
The State Department Web site on the Summer Work/Travel Program -- http://exchanges.state.gov/education/jexchanges/private/swt.htm – includes a “Catalog of Designated Sponsors,” entities that can direct applicants to the local agencies with which they work in each country.
Once a student has a sponsor for the work/travel program, he or she will be interviewed by a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy or consulate. The purpose of the interview is to ensure that participants meet the requirements of the program and are eligible to receive the J-1 visa. That visa is issued to nonimmigrants entering the United States to teach, study, research, consult or receive training.
Embassy in Moscow reported that 9,330 students out of nearly 12,000 applicants were approved for the J-1 visas in 2004, while Warsaw reported a higher percentage of approvals. The U.S. Embassy in Tallinn, Estonia, has instituted "Super Tuesdays": during the peak seasons, they set aside Tuesdays exclusively for the processing of the Summer Work/Travel cases.
On the other hand, the U.S. Embassy in Riga, Latvia, reported that processing policies for the J-1 visas are becoming stricter and thus the number of student participants in the work/travel program has decreased. The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia, said that it too is tightening up its requirements.
Prior to the consular interview, all participants in the Summer Work/Travel Program must pay a fee of $35, which is used to maintain the U.S. government’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a nationwide registration program for international visitors. Participants from countries that do not require a visa must pay the SEVIS fee before arriving at a port of entry.
More information about visa application requirements is available at: http://warsaw.usembassy.gov/poland/exchange_visitor.html
The fee can be paid by mail or online. For a fact sheet on the SEVIS fee, see http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsreleases/articles/SEVISFactSheet.htm