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Work Exchange and Professional Exchange
Programs
Work exchange programs encourage international understanding
through short-term work experience in the United States. These
programs vary widely in nature; for example, some programs
allow you to accept any type of work that is offered, while
others restrict you to working in a job related to your chosen
career, or even to doing a specific job, such as being an
au pair. Each program has different eligibility requirements,
and you should check to see which programs best suit your
particular situation and needs.
Work exchange programs do not operate between the United
States and every country. Contact a U.S. educational information
or advising center to find out if any programs are available
to citizens of your country. Also use the Internet to search
for information on work exchange programs.
These programs can be administered only by organizations
that have been authorized by the U.S. Department of State
to issue the Certificate of Eligibility (Form IAP-66/DS-2019).
This form allows work exchange program participants to apply
for a J-1 exchange visitor visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate.
The J-1 visa allows the participant to work legally in the
United States for a specified period of time. This type of
J-1 visa should not be confused with another category of J-1
visa that is issued to students enrolled in degree or exchange
programs at U.S. universities (see Booklets One and Two of
this series for further information on degree-level study
in the United States); you will not be able to study full-time
while you are on a work exchange program. Further information
on the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program and the Au Pair Program
is available on the Web site http://exchanges.state.gov/education/jexchanges.
You should plan your participation in a work exchange program
as far in advance as possible. Some work exchange programs
require that you obtain an offer of employment in the United
States before you apply to the program. Programs may have
application deadlines, or they may require that you apply
a certain number of weeks or months before you intend to leave
for the United States. Ask the individual work exchange organization
how long the whole process will take. Allow time to apply
for and obtain your visa, and, if possible, do not purchase
a plane ticket before you are informed that your visa application
has been successful.
If you are interested in learning more about your particular
profession in the United States, you might want to consider
taking part in a professional exchange program. A number of
programs operate between the United States and other countries
that allow members of certain professions, most commonly teachers,
to experience living and working at that profession in the
other country. An example of such programs is the Fulbright
Teacher and Administrator Exchange Program, which operates
between the United States and more than 30 countries. Further
information on this program is available on the World Wide
Web at http://exchanges.state.gov/education/fulbright.
Contact a U.S. educational information or advising center
for information on this and other professional exchange programs
available between your country and the United States.
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