How to Apply for J-1 Summer Work and Travel: Steps from Sponsor to Visa

The application runs in a fixed order, from sponsor to visa. The apply hub links each stage in detail, and this page gives the whole path.

The short version

1. Check that you are a full-time student outside the US with one semester done.
2. Contact a designated sponsor, who supervises your application.
3. Pass the sponsor’s interview and English check.
4. Get your DS-2019 from your sponsor after it enters you in SEVIS.
5. Pay the SEVIS fee, then do the DS-160 and visa interview at an embassy or consulate.

The steps at a glance

Confirm you qualify, then contact a sponsor

You must be enrolled full-time at an accredited post-secondary, classroom-based school outside the United States, and have completed at least one semester. The eligibility page covers this in full.

Then contact a designated sponsor directly. Sponsors supervise the application process and are your main point of contact throughout the program. The sponsors page explains how to find one on the State Department list.

The interview and English check

The sponsor interviews you in person or by video conference and documents it. It also checks your conversational English and reading comprehension, through a recognized test or through those documented interviews. This is a sponsor requirement under 22 CFR 62.32, so expect it whichever sponsor you pick.

The job

Participants who are not from a visa waiver country must be pre-placed in a job before entry. Their sponsor provides pre-arranged, fully vetted employment. Participants from visa waiver countries can arrive without one, but must have enough money to support themselves during the search.

The jobs are seasonal or temporary. You must be paid at least the higher of the applicable federal, state or local minimum wage or pay commensurate with similarly situated US workers. Overtime is paid under applicable state or federal law. Jobs with work hours mostly between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. are excluded, as are domestic help in private homes and driving jobs that need a license.

The DS-2019

The Form DS-2019 is the basic document used in the administration of the exchange visitor program. Your sponsor enters your information in SEVIS and then gives you the form. The sponsor completes the form before you receive it.

Questions about it go to the designated sponsor whose name and phone number are printed on the form. Your sponsor is responsible for assisting and advising you on all matters about your exchange program. The DS-2019 page goes deeper.

The SEVIS fee

The I-901 SEVIS fee is separate from visa fees and school SEVIS administration fees. Before you travel, your sponsor must give you clear information on the procedures for paying SEVIS fees and obtaining visas for entry to the United States. Pay the fee through the ICE I-901 page, and read the amount shown there on the day you pay.

DS-160 and the visa interview

Each visa applicant submits, per the State Department’s interviews and documents page, the online Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application, Form DS-160, to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate. An interview at the embassy or consulate is required for applicants from age 14 through 79, with few exceptions. An ink-free digital fingerprint scan is taken during the process, usually at the interview.

A DS-2019 does not guarantee a visa. Issuing a J-1 visa is at the discretion of consular officers.

Before you leave home

Your sponsor must give you, before departure:

• A copy of the Department of State’s Summer Work Travel Participant Letter.
• Its 24/7 immediate contact phone number and the Department of State help line.
• An itemized list of all fees you will pay.
• Information on health care and insurance costs and requirements.

Insurance must be in effect for your whole program. Medical benefits must be at least $100,000 per accident or illness. The program dates page shows how your season window works.