[Life in the US] J1 Visa

I read a lot of posts about the visa before, and in the end I got through the application, even though I was pretty confused along the way. I’ve also finished my internship abroad and come back! I thought I could share some of my experience, so maybe you can avoid some unnecessary detours.

Background:

1. Already graduated from university

2. Going for an “unpaid education internship abroad”

3. Although I had graduated, my status was “a program carried out to continue education credits”

4. My internship school was confirmed before I left

At the time I wondered whether I could do my own research and handle the whole process myself, but in the end I found out that for a “J1 internship visa” you have to go through an agency! The agency is the “Sponsor,” something like your guarantor, which lets the US government know you’re a safe person who can enter the country.

Visa timeline:

2023/01/30 Chose the agency and filled out its application documents: the fee varies depending on your internship program (I went for 6 months, and the total was about NT$80,000)

2023/02/26 Filled out the online English application (DS-2019); it was approved and the DS-2019 was issued

2023/04/08 The host organization filled out the online training plan (DS-106); after the information was filled in, the agency’s US headquarters reviewed all the documents

2023/04/13 Booked an AIT appointment (got 2023/05/04); 2023/05/04 went to AIT for the J-1 visa.

*The DS-106 has a time limit (you have to finish in 20 minutes). You can search online for “DS-106填寫教學” (DS-106 filling guide) and find a Chinese translation of it; just follow along and it’s quick!

*My AIT interview went really smoothly. They only asked me 6 questions:

1. What I’m going on the J1 to do

2. What the internship involves

3. Am I a student now

4. When did I graduate

5. What is my current job? Since I teach elementary school students, they also asked how old my students are.

6. Whether I had read the little booklet (contact info in case of an emergency abroad)

It really was just a normal chat, so don’t be too nervous :)

Hope everyone gets their visa without any trouble❤️❤️❤️

I’ll also share what life is like on an education internship in the US later, so feel free to follow!!!