Applicants must be a minimum of 18 years old at the time they apply for their visa.
Applicants must meet the following J-1 visa requirements.
J-1 Intern: be currently enrolled full-time and actively pursuing degree or certificate in a ministerially-recognized degree or certificate-granting post-secondary academic institution outside of the United States for at least 2 semesters OR be a recent graduate (within 12 months of program start date) from said institution.
J-1 Trainee: be a graduate of ministerially-recognized degree or certificate-granting post-secondary academic institution outside of the United States with at least 1 year of work experience outside the US OR have five years’ work experience outside the US.
The academic institution is defined by the program regulation as any publicly or privately operated primary, secondary, or post-secondary intuition that offers primarily academic programs. And for the purpose of these regulations, an institution that offers primarily vocational or technical programs is not an academic institution. Participants’ education and work experience must match the internship and training field.
Applicants must be able to speak, read, and understand English in a business environment and submit proof of Advanced English proficiency through standard English tests (minimum scores as stated in the Partner Handbook) such as TOEFL, SLEP, TOEIC, Testpodium or Michigan. 6.2.4.
Applicants must be able to benefit from a structured training or internship experience. The training/internship must not be duplicative of previous experience and must contribute to the participant’s academic studies.
J-1 Interns: Applicants who have previously participated on an internship J-1 visa are eligible for a second internship J-1 visa, as long as they maintain student status or begin a new internship program within 12 months of graduation.
Participants who have successfully completed internship programs and no longer meet the selection criteria for internship programs may participate in a training program after a two year period of residency outside of the United States.
J-1 Trainees: Applicants who have previously participated on a training J-1 visa are eligible to participate in a training program after a two year period of residency outside of the United States.
Returning participants’ program cannot be duplicative of their previous program and must address the development of more advanced skills or a different field of expertise.
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