J-1 Visa Documents & Preparation Requirements For IT, Accounting, Financial Internship Applicants
Al Lostocco
April 20, 2009
www.internship4america.com
To reach this point in the process you will have had to conduct your interview(s) with potential candidate(s) decided on the one(s) you liked and have had them sign off on the their training plan. The document used for development of the training plan is a US State Department DS7002. In the event you have not read the articles on interviewing and screening and how to develop the training plan you can find them listed on our website
You will now need to decide on a sponsoring agency to provide you with a US State Department document called a DS 2019. The sponsoring agency is an organization approved by the US State Department to issue this document. There is two parts to the cost of this. First you have the cost of the document itself, which can vary from $700 to $1000, and the second part is the health insurance, which can vary from $50 to $75 per month but is paid in a lump sum prior to the issuing of the DS 2019. It is mandatory that every J-1 Visa candidate have health insurance for the duration of their stay in the US. Of course this is a cost you do not have to bear as an employer. In most cases employers require that the candidate cover the cost of obtaining their documents and insurance. A few employers will reimburse a portion of the expense at the end of the training. Since you will be submitting the documents to the sponsoring agency you will need to collect the funds prior to submittal. It is always advisable to collect the funds first.
Here is a basic explanation of what a DS-2019 is. It is a multi-use document issued by a US State Department organization. The document verifies that the candidate has been admitted into a bon-a-fid training program and that he has proven financial resources to cover his expenses for the term of his training. The official title of this document is "Certificate of Eligibility" the reason it is called this is because it provides proof that the individual is eligible to apply for a J-1 visa at his or her country´s US Embassy. Once the candidate is in the US this document serves as proof of legal status.
Now lets go through the basic set of documents you will have to have for your sponsoring agency. Every agency has different requirements but the following generic list you can count on having to supply.
Document Package to be submitted:
Sponsoring agency Application Form
o This application form must be completed by the candidate for the program
Signed "terms and Conditions Agreement for the J-1 Visa Program
o This agreement is signed by the participant
o This document reserves the right of the sponsoring agency to cancel or alter any parts of the program for unforeseen circumstances
Visa Service Participant Agreement
o This authorizes the sponsoring agency to complete the J-1 Visa Application and to prepare the DS-2019 documents.
Interview Report Form
o This should be a one-page report that addresses the following subjects: Applicants past experience, qualification for the training program, why the applicant has applied and the applicants future plans. Your interview form should address the applicant´s ability to understand spoken English. This report should be signed off by the interviewer
Candidates Resume
o The resume needs to be in English. Keep in mind that a resume and a CV are different documents. If your candidate submits a CV, which is a long detailed document outlining the experience, you may want him or her to shorten it up to no more then two (2) pages.
o Obviously the information on this resume should agree with the classification intern or trainee that the applicant is applying for.
Copy of passport
o The expiration date of this passport should be at least 6 months beyond the end of the training program. As a word of caution when you are interviewing you should make sure that the individual has his or her passport, that is current and will not expire as noted above.
Reference letters
o The letters must be in English
o The reference should be from a University professor and an employer or both from former employers
o Two (2) reference letters are adequate.
Student Registration (Current Students)/Copy of Diploma (Graduate)
o Included, as part of this should be the candidates Transcript.
Financial Security Statement for Training Program in the US
o All interns and trainees who receive a stipend of less than $1000 per month from their U.S. Host Company must provide proof of sufficient financial funds to support their stay in the U.S.
o If the stipend is less $1000 a guarantor(s) must sign the agreement. This is usually a parent or relative.
This packet of documents is sent to the sponsoring agency, which will review it for completeness and verifiability. In some cases the agency will send the DS 2019 directly to the candidate and in others, they will send it to you. Some agencies can take as long as four (4) weeks to process the document and others can do it in one (1) week. When you are shopping for an agency you may want to inquire about their processing time because it may be a factor. It is important to remember this document does not guarantee that the candidate will receive his or her visa. So the shorter the processing time the better are your chances in the event you have to change candidates because of a denial or multiple denials. The subject of denials and multiple denials will be covered in my next article which will be entitled "Embassy Interview & Arrival: Challenges of Hosting an International Internship Candidate".
If you have any additional questions feel free to contact me directly at lostocco1@internship4america.com. If you would like to review some of my other articles on instituting an internship program you´ll find them listed at www.internship4america.com. If you have had a similar experience I would like to hear about it.
Alexander H. Lostocco
To reach this point in the process you will have had to conduct your interview(s) with potential candidate(s) decided on the one(s) you liked and have had them sign off on the their training plan. The document used for development of the training plan is a US State Department DS7002. In the event you have not read the articles on interviewing and screening and how to develop the training plan you can find them listed on our website
You will now need to decide on a sponsoring agency to provide you with a US State Department document called a DS 2019. The sponsoring agency is an organization approved by the US State Department to issue this document. There is two parts to the cost of this. First you have the cost of the document itself, which can vary from $700 to $1000, and the second part is the health insurance, which can vary from $50 to $75 per month but is paid in a lump sum prior to the issuing of the DS 2019. It is mandatory that every J-1 Visa candidate have health insurance for the duration of their stay in the US. Of course this is a cost you do not have to bear as an employer. In most cases employers require that the candidate cover the cost of obtaining their documents and insurance. A few employers will reimburse a portion of the expense at the end of the training. Since you will be submitting the documents to the sponsoring agency you will need to collect the funds prior to submittal. It is always advisable to collect the funds first.
Here is a basic explanation of what a DS-2019 is. It is a multi-use document issued by a US State Department organization. The document verifies that the candidate has been admitted into a bon-a-fid training program and that he has proven financial resources to cover his expenses for the term of his training. The official title of this document is "Certificate of Eligibility" the reason it is called this is because it provides proof that the individual is eligible to apply for a J-1 visa at his or her country´s US Embassy. Once the candidate is in the US this document serves as proof of legal status.
Now lets go through the basic set of documents you will have to have for your sponsoring agency. Every agency has different requirements but the following generic list you can count on having to supply.
Document Package to be submitted:
Sponsoring agency Application Form
o This application form must be completed by the candidate for the program
Signed "terms and Conditions Agreement for the J-1 Visa Program
o This agreement is signed by the participant
o This document reserves the right of the sponsoring agency to cancel or alter any parts of the program for unforeseen circumstances
Visa Service Participant Agreement
o This authorizes the sponsoring agency to complete the J-1 Visa Application and to prepare the DS-2019 documents.
Interview Report Form
o This should be a one-page report that addresses the following subjects: Applicants past experience, qualification for the training program, why the applicant has applied and the applicants future plans. Your interview form should address the applicant´s ability to understand spoken English. This report should be signed off by the interviewer
Candidates Resume
o The resume needs to be in English. Keep in mind that a resume and a CV are different documents. If your candidate submits a CV, which is a long detailed document outlining the experience, you may want him or her to shorten it up to no more then two (2) pages.
o Obviously the information on this resume should agree with the classification intern or trainee that the applicant is applying for.
Copy of passport
o The expiration date of this passport should be at least 6 months beyond the end of the training program. As a word of caution when you are interviewing you should make sure that the individual has his or her passport, that is current and will not expire as noted above.
Reference letters
o The letters must be in English
o The reference should be from a University professor and an employer or both from former employers
o Two (2) reference letters are adequate.
Student Registration (Current Students)/Copy of Diploma (Graduate)
o Included, as part of this should be the candidates Transcript.
Financial Security Statement for Training Program in the US
o All interns and trainees who receive a stipend of less than $1000 per month from their U.S. Host Company must provide proof of sufficient financial funds to support their stay in the U.S.
o If the stipend is less $1000 a guarantor(s) must sign the agreement. This is usually a parent or relative.
This packet of documents is sent to the sponsoring agency, which will review it for completeness and verifiability. In some cases the agency will send the DS 2019 directly to the candidate and in others, they will send it to you. Some agencies can take as long as four (4) weeks to process the document and others can do it in one (1) week. When you are shopping for an agency you may want to inquire about their processing time because it may be a factor. It is important to remember this document does not guarantee that the candidate will receive his or her visa. So the shorter the processing time the better are your chances in the event you have to change candidates because of a denial or multiple denials. The subject of denials and multiple denials will be covered in my next article which will be entitled "Embassy Interview & Arrival: Challenges of Hosting an International Internship Candidate".
If you have any additional questions feel free to contact me directly at lostocco1@internship4america.com. If you would like to review some of my other articles on instituting an internship program you´ll find them listed at www.internship4america.com. If you have had a similar experience I would like to hear about it.
Alexander H. Lostocco
Print
Email
