J-1 Student-Intern Program FAQ

To be eligible to participate as a Student-Intern, a participant must meet these conditions:

• Be currently "enrolled in and pursuing a degree at an accredited postsecondary academic institution outside the United States.
• The U.S. internship must "fulfill the educational objectives for his or her current degree program at his or her home institution.
• Have "verifiable English language skills sufficient to function on a day-to-day basis in the internship environment.
• Be "primarily in the United States to engage in a student internship program rather than to engage in employment or provide services to an employer.
• Be "accepted into a student internship program at the postsecondary accredited academic institution listed on his or her Form DS-2019.
• Be "in good academic standing" at his or her home institution outside the United States.
• The student must return to his or her academic program outside the United States "and fulfill and obtain a degree from such academic institution after completion of the student internship program.
• Have "sufficient finances to support himself or herself and dependents for their entire stay in the United States, including housing and living expenses.

The Internship activity secured for the participant must conform to these requirements and prohibitions:

• Student interns may participate in a student internship program for "up to 12 months for each degree/major.
• Internships must be full-time; i.e., consist of a minimum of 32 hours per week.
• Consist of no more than 20 percent clerical work.
• All tasks assigned must be "necessary for the completion of the student internship program."
• Not displace "American workers" (including full or part-time, temporary or permanent).
• Not "serve to fill a labor need."
• Exist "solely to assist the student intern in achieving the objectives of his or her participation in a student internship program."
• Consist of "work-based learning," rather than "ordinary employment or unskilled labor."
• If in the field of agriculture, meet all requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.
• Expose the participant to "American techniques, methodologies, and technology," expand upon the participant's existing knowledge and skills, and "not duplicate the student intern's prior experience."
• Not place a student intern in any position that involves the following:
  - Unskilled or casual labor
  - Child care or elder care
  - Aviation
  - "Clinical positions or engaging in any other kind of work that involves patient care or contact, including any work that would require student interns to medication, or other clinical or medical care (e.g., sports or physical therapy, psychological counseling, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, social work, speech therapy, or early childhood education)"
  - Any "position, occupation, or business that could bring the Exchange Visitor Program or the Department into notoriety or disrepute."
• Not involve in any way a "staffing/employment agency."
• A student may participate in an internship with or without wages or other compensation. To be employed, however, the student needs the "approval of the exchange program's responsible officer and the student's home institution's dean or academic advisor.
• The internship does not have to be in the student's field of study, but it does have to "fulfill the educational objectives for his or her current degree program at his or her home institution."

• Verify the student's English language ability, "through a sponsor-conducted interview, by a recognized English language test, or by signed documentation from an academic institution or English language school."
• Complete and secure the requisite signatures on Form DS-7002.
• The program sponsor must conduct such evaluations for each Student Intern. All programs must do a concluding evaluation, and programs lasting more than six months must do a midpoint and concluding evaluation. Please complete “J-1 Student Intern Evaluation Form” and submit it to MIO. The sponsor must retain these evaluations for at least three years following the completion of the student's internship program.
• The Student intern will participate in appropriate activities guided above.