How Much Money You Need for Work and Travel USA: Sourced Costs and Wage Floors

A season’s budget has three parts: what you pay before you fly, what you need in cash in the first weeks, and what your pay covers after that. This page lists every figure a government or sponsor source gives, and no invented total. The money hub links the other money pages, and program cost covers sponsor and agency fees in more depth.

The short version

1. Pay the $35 SEVIS fee before your visa interview.
2. Ask your sponsor for the itemized list of all fees.
3. Bring cash for housing, because rent or a deposit may be due on arrival.
4. Check that your job pays at least $7.25 per hour.
5. Ask whether housing costs are taken out of your paycheck.

Costs before you leave

Two government fees apply to most participants. The SEVIS I-901 fee for Summer Work Travel is $35 (ICE fee FAQ). The SEVIS fee page shows how to pay it. You must pay it before your visa interview at the embassy or consulate, and no fee waivers exist, although a third party may pay it for you. The visa application fee for this class of visa was $185 in the State Department fee table, a 2025 capture seen October 20, 2026. Fees change, so confirm the amount when you book your interview.

The program fee is the number you cannot look up here. An agency’s price depends on your country, and the sponsor will tell you whether the SEVIS fee is already inside it. A sponsor may pay the SEVIS fee for you, but it is not required to. Before you sign, ask for the itemized list of all fees a participant pays, which sponsors must provide as part of pre-arrival information.

InterExchange, a sponsor, lists other costs as yours on top of its fees: transportation to and from the US, accident and sickness insurance, housing, and personal expenses. That is one sponsor’s own list, seen October 20, 2026.

Insurance sets a limit on your risk

Sponsors must also describe the health care and insurance costs and requirements before you arrive. The insurance rules set minimums: medical benefits of at least $100,000 per accident or illness, repatriation of remains of $25,000, and medical evacuation of $50,000. The deductible may not exceed $500 per accident or illness. The health insurance page explains how the cover works.

Cash for your first weeks

Your first paycheck is not your first bill. Housing costs may come due on arrival, so InterExchange’s housing guide tells its participants to bring enough money to cover them. Its list of costs includes a landlord asking for part of the rent plus a refundable security deposit, which may be due on arrival.

Some housing is free. Housing costs vary greatly across the US, especially in seasonal summer and winter areas. A furnished room often costs more but cuts the cost of buying furniture and household basics. Ask which utilities you pay, because it varies by city and accommodation. Read the housing page before you pay anything.

Sponsors must consider whether housing and transport are affordable and reliable when they place you. If your employer does not provide them, the sponsor must help you arrange them immediately.

What your pay covers

Know your wage floor before you accept a job. Covered workers are entitled to at least $7.25 per hour under federal law. States can set more, as the Department of Labor’s state table shows.

Tipped jobs work differently. An employer must pay a tipped worker at least $2.13 per hour. The maximum tip credit is $5.12 per hour, which is $7.25 minus $2.13, in the DOL fact sheet’s 2026 capture. Your tips must bring you up to the full minimum. Pay and wages covers the rest.

Hours matter as much as the rate. Sponsors must make good faith efforts to provide the weekly hours listed on your job offer. Overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate is owed for hours over 40 in a workweek, unless an exemption applies.

What comes out of your paycheck

Two deductions shape take-home pay. In InterExchange’s program, the host employer withholds a prorated amount of your income each pay period. Social Security and Medicare tax is usually not taken from J-1 wages (see the IRS J-1 page) when the work is authorized and serves the visa purpose. The taxes page lists the forms you file.

Housing and transport deductions can also appear. The pre-arrival information must list deductions from wages, including those for housing and transport. Pay records must show every addition to or deduction from pay. The reasonable cost of housing an employer charges does not include a profit to the employer. Ask whether housing is deducted from your paycheck, and if so whether before or after tax.

Keeping bank costs low

Bank fees are a quiet cost. When you open an account, ask about overdraft fees and how to opt out, and about fees for using ATMs. Chase’s own guide to international student accounts notes that a US account may make it easier to get US currency, make payments and avoid foreign transaction fees, and that some banks charge a fee to move money to different banks. The bank account page walks through opening one. When you send savings home, compare the disclosed fees and exchange rate first, as the sending money home page explains.

Questions to ask before you pay anyone

Five questions turn the figures above into your own budget. Put them to your agency and your landlord in writing.

• What is on the itemized list of all fees a participant pays?
• Is the SEVIS fee already part of the program fees?
• What is the security deposit, and how much is due on arrival?
• Which utilities do I pay, since it varies by city and accommodation?
• Is housing cost deducted from my paycheck, and is that before or after tax?

InterExchange’s housing guide adds that keeping noise to a minimum helps you avoid fines, and that treating the place with care protects the return of your security deposit.