Posted By: Sheri (New Board: ForeignJobs 23) on 'ForeignJobs' Title: Summer work Q & A Date: Mon Oct 11 02:48:23 1999 What does this program offer me? You can spend up to 5 months in the United States, out of which you can work for up to 4 months. Where can I work in America? Anywhere you want to. Can I take any job? Yes, any job, except the following: You must NOT take caer of children. No Babysitting!!! You must not work in medical fields. You must not work for households, only for companies. Everything else is 100% legal and you can do it. Is there a limitation on how much I can make? No. Whatever money you make it's yours. You just have to pay taxes. How can it be so easy? Because this is not a "job visa". This is a visa for a cultural exchange program. It has been established by the US Government to allow foreign university students to try out regular everyday life in America for several months. Letting you experience "regular everyday life" is why you are allowed to work. And because its a cultural exchange visa, it's easy to get. Who can participate in this program? Full-time university students between the ages of 18 and 28. How much do I pay for all this? the cheapest Program Fee is $310.00. You also have to buy insurance for $37.00 per month. Plus you have to get there and you have to have money for food, accomodation and transportation before you get your first paycheck. Can I find my job myself? Sure, no problem at all. It's also the cheapest way to go. Just read carefully how to proceed with your application, so that everything goes smoothly without any delay. And how abuot if I want a job from you? Most of students actually want us to find a job for them. Especially because finding a job is not always easy. You have to pay an extra $338.00 for the placement, but the good news is that we guarantee the placement! It has never happened, but if we couldn't find you any job, you get ALL your money back. That's what we call a guarantee! Plus there are also other services included in that $338.00 such as 2 nights accomodation in NYC after your arrival, etc. What's the role of APEX in all this? We do the European part. We market the programs, organize meetings where you can come and ask your questions, we collect the applications, do the interviews, arrange flights, help with payments, distribute the visa forms, help you complete them, we also do the pre-departure orientations, and more. Simply, whatever is taking place in Europe it is our job. and whatever is happening in the US is job for the US organizations. OK, APEX is just marketing the program, so who actually operates it? The program is operated by InterExchange, Inc. http://www.interexchange.org Who is APEX? APEX is a non-profit organization that was established in September 1992 by a group of former participants of the Work & Travel program. Many young people in and outside the United States want to live and work in other countries. They find it lots more interesting than to come as tourists, and they also want to make money for their travels. We help them to do this legally. Just as we will help you to work legally in the US through this program, we also help young Americans to find jobs abroad for example as English teachers. Can you give me an address of any former participant? All personal information you give us is strictly confidential, so we can't do that. But I want to talk to somebody who tried it! That's easy, just come to one of our meetings. We always have former participants there. That way you can talk with them face to face, and we don't have to give out anybody's persoanl information. Information about meetings is always posted on our web site. How do you select who can participate? We will interview you. Our job is to make sure that you understand the program, understand what's legal and what's illegal, that you will be able to take care of yourself as an adult person, and that you will be a good employee to your employer. Of course, the interview is conducted in English. Do you guarantee that I will get my visa? No, nobody can guarantee that. But don't be worried needlessly, the denial rate is much, much lower in the case of J-1 visas than with the regular tourist visas. Whom do I contact in America if I have a problem? You contact the Work & Travel office at InterExchange, Inc. In New York. You will receive detailed instructions at the pre-departure orientation. Who the "visa sponsor" is? Visa sponsor is the American organization that has been authorized by the U.S. Government to operate the program. You can't apply for the visa without a documentation from such an organization. If you don't follow the rules of the program, they can revoke their sponsorship and report you to the Immigrations and Naturalization Service. Can my visa be extended? No this visa can not be extended. If you want to stay longer, you must have for example tourist visa (B-2). If you want to work longer, you must have a job visa (for example one of the H category). SHERI'S WEB INTERNATIONAL ** Email address: sheri@sherisweb.com Web Address: http://www.sherisweb.com