J1 Visa: Exchange Visitor Visa for USA
The J1 Visa program in the USA is an opportunity for individuals from participating countries to visit the United States on a temporary visa for a specific period of time. This non-immigrant visa facilitates exchanges in various fields, ranging from education to research and cultural immersion.
Participants from around the world can engage in academic exchanges, internships, or seasonal work like a Summer Camp in the USA. For a J1 Visa in the USA, participants must have a sponsor to be allowed to apply for it. As type of experiences the J1 visa offers and duration, you will find the following among many others:
- Summer Work Travel: 4-month during post-secondary school summer vacation.
- Au Pair: 12 months that may be extended for an additional 6, 9, or 12 months.
- Camp Counselors: No more than 4 months.
- Trainees and Interns: 18 months for a training program & 12 months for an intern program (limited exception for training programs in the field of agriculture, which may be designated for a total duration of 18 months).
We will focus on the most common program among the J1 visas for the USA that might be connected the most to our Working Holiday programs in Canada: The Summer Work & Travel program
Summer J1 Work & Travel Program
College and University students can apply for this visa to travel to the United States to share their culture through temporary work and travel opportunities.
The Summer Work Travel allows foreign students to work in the USA between 1-4 months during their summer vacation from college or university to experience and to be exposed to the people and way of life in the United States.
What to do after your J1 visa in the USA?
Generally speaking, when your J1 visa expires you will most likely need to leave the US. Normally participants will have a “30-Day Grace Period” to travel inside the United States after the J1 visa expires, so you get the opportunity to visit different areas of the country before your departure.
Employment and other exchange activities are prohibited during the 30-day grace period. This means that you have until 30 days after your program end date to depart the U.S. Certain J-1 exchange visa holders are subject to a 2-year foreign residence requirement.
It is possible, in some cases, to extend your visa or apply for a different visa type, but this varies from case to case and we are not experts in the USA, but in Canada! For that reason, if you are thinking Canada could be your next destination, the first step is for you to check if you would be eligible to apply for a Canadian Working Holiday if you are a citizen of any of the more than 30 participating IEC countries!
Applying for a Working Holiday visa for Canada
A Canada Working Holiday visa opens the door to a world of additional opportunity and work & travel adventure. Similarly to the J1, Canada offers a Youth Mobility Program called International Experience Canada. If you attended and enjoyed one of the popular US programs: Summer Work & Travel or Camp USA, we’re pretty certain you’ll love our Canada Working Holiday Resort programs for Summer Season or Winter Season, so be sure to check them out!