Visa Waiver Countries and J-1 Summer Work and Travel: What Changes for You

Two things in the Work and Travel world share the words “visa waiver”. One is a list of countries. The other is a travel permission called ESTA. This page separates them and shows what the list changes for your season. The apply hub has the rest of the steps.

The short version

1. Check if your country is on the Visa Waiver Program list.
2. If it is not, get a job lined up before you leave.
3. If it is, you may leave without a job, and your sponsor must help you look.
4. Do not travel on ESTA for Work and Travel; you need the J-1 visa.
5. Tell your sponsor about a job offer, and do not start until the sponsor vets it.

Which countries are on the Visa Waiver Program list?

The Visa Waiver Program lets citizens of 42 countries visit the US for business or tourism for up to 90 days without a visa. DHS runs it in consultation with the State Department. In return, those countries must let US citizens visit them for a similar length of time. Among other requirements, DHS may designate a country that has an annual temporary visitor (B) visa refusal rate of less than three percent and that issues electronic, machine-readable passports with biometric identifiers.

The DHS list, last updated May 2, 2025, names these countries: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

Some entries have limits. The United Kingdom entry covers only British citizens with the unrestricted right of permanent abode. Taiwan covers only people with the right of permanent abode on Taiwan. People from Curacao, Bonaire, St Eustatius, Saba and St Maarten are not eligible if they apply with passports from those places.

The list changes. Recent joiners include Poland on Nov. 11, 2019, Croatia on Dec. 1, 2021, Israel on Sept. 29, 2023 and Qatar on Nov. 21, 2024. Romania was designated on January 9, 2025, but that designation was not implemented before it was rescinded on May 2, 2025. Argentina and Uruguay were once on the list and were terminated. Check the DHS page again before you plan, because it is the source that decides.

What the list changes for Summer Work and Travel

It changes one thing: whether you must have a job lined up before you leave. Summer Work Travel students must be pre-placed in a job prior to entry unless they are from a visa waiver country. Sponsors must provide pre-arranged, fully vetted jobs to everyone who is not from a visa waiver country.

Nothing else about the program is waived. You still need to be a full-time student outside the US who has completed at least one semester. You still stay at most four months, and extensions are not permitted. You still need a sponsor, a DS-2019 and a J-1 visa, as the State Department exchange visa page explains. The eligibility page covers those tests in full.

ESTA is not a way to do Work and Travel

ESTA is the online approval that VWP visitors need before they board a flight or ship to the US. It is for tourism and business visits. It is not for exchange programs.

Exchange visitors cannot travel on the Visa Waiver Program or on a visitor visa. A foreign national may not travel to the US to take part in an exchange through the VWP. The VWP page also lists employment among the purposes it does not permit.

Arriving on ESTA and then looking for work is therefore not a shortcut. A Summer Work and Travel student applies for the exchange visitor visa after getting a Form DS-2019 from a sponsor. The DS-2019 page shows how that form is issued.

An approved ESTA also does not guarantee entry. CBP officers at the port of entry decide on admission. ESTA approval itself does not decide whether a traveler is admissible.

If you are from a visa waiver country and have no job yet

Students from VWP countries may leave home without a job, but the sponsor has duties first. The duties are:

• Make sure you have enough money to support yourself during the job search.
• Give you information on how to seek work and find lodging before you leave.
• Give you a job directory with at least as many listings as the number of participants without jobs.
• Try to find a suitable job for you if you cannot find one on your own after one week.

The federal rule adds the steps for you. You must tell your sponsor when you get a job offer, and you cannot start the job until the sponsor vets it. The sponsor must confirm your first job within 72 hours, by checking the terms of the job and fully vetting the employer.

Students from VWP countries who do line up a job first, either through the sponsor or on their own, follow the pre-arranged path. For them the sponsor vets the employer and confirms the job terms before it issues the DS-2019. The finding a job page covers the search itself.

Sponsors also report to the State Department how long it took non-pre-placed participants to find jobs. Sponsors must also tell you, before you leave home, the State Department toll-free help line and their own 24/7 contact number.

When a visa waiver country passport is not enough

A passport from a listed country can still lose the waiver. Three groups of travelers from listed countries must get a visa before traveling:

• Nationals who were in North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011.
• Nationals who were in Cuba on or after January 12, 2021.
• Nationals of a VWP country who are also nationals of Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria.

A recent visa refusal for any reason can also lead to ESTA denial, extra review at the port of entry or denial of admission. If ESTA is denied, the traveler must apply for a nonimmigrant visa at a US embassy or consulate.

These rules concern the VWP. A J-1 student applies for the J-1 visa either way.

Rules that apply once you are on the VWP, and why they matter

If you visit as a tourist before or after your season, the VWP rules apply to that visit. A VWP visit lasts 90 days or less, and a stay longer than that needs a visa. You may not extend the stay past the initial admission period. You must leave on or before the date on your admission stamp. You may not change status inside the US.

ESTA approval is typically granted for a two-year period or until the passport expires, whichever is sooner. A new ESTA is needed if you get a new passport or change your name. You must have a passport valid for at least 6 months after your planned departure, unless a country agreement says otherwise. VWP travelers also need an e-passport.

A short trip to Canada or Mexico counts inside the original 90 days. That is a rule for visitors on the VWP. It does not extend a J-1 program.

Canada and Bermuda

Canada is not on the DHS list. Citizens of Canada and Bermuda may enter as exchange visitors without a visa. They must present a valid DS-2019 at the border or airport. The same page links a separate information page for citizens of Canada and Bermuda.

The J-1 two-year rule is a different “waiver”

Students searching for “waiver” sometimes land on the J-1 home-country requirement, which has nothing to do with ESTA. A separate online waiver application exists for it. Exchange visitors are expected to return home after the program. The two-year rule page explains who it applies to.

Quick check before you apply

1. Find your country on the DHS list.
2. If it is there, ask your sponsor about the no-job path and what money you must show.
3. If it is not, ask for a pre-arranged job before you get the DS-2019.
4. Apply for the J-1 visa after the DS-2019 arrives, not ESTA.
5. Keep ESTA for tourist trips only.