Section 1: Before You Are Employed

You will have 90 days from your visa start date to secure a suitable internship. You will be reminded of your deadline via email communications from us on multiple occasions and it is important that you keep this deadline in mind. The Department of State regulations require that we have your completed DS-7002 (training plan) uploaded on your SEVIS record by this date. This means you should plan to get your DS-7002 to us no later than 85 days beyond your visa start date to allow adequate time for us to approve and upload your DS-7002 to SEVIS (please see Section 2 for detailed instructions on the approval process). The closer you get to your 90 day deadline, the more difficult it is for us to support you in your job search, so it is imperative that you submit frequent updates about your job search progress through the job update form linked below and remain in good communication with our team about your job search progress. 

Please note: As the 90 day limit is a requirement from the Department of State no extensions on this deadline are possible. 

Please keep the following requirements and restrictions in mind when searching for jobs to make sure the positions you are pursuing will be eligible for the visa.  Please see Section 4 for answers to frequently asked questions regarding the type of work/company that is allowed on the J1 Visa. If you are unsure if a position would be a fit for the visa, it is best to send a description of the job to Rian staff to confirm it would be suitable. 

• You cannot work in a role that is fully remote working (i.e. working from home full time). You must work at least 2 days per week in the workplace. If in doubt please ask the Rian staff.

• You cannot be in a role that requires you to work with children or provide childcare, child supervision 

• You cannot teach or educate 

• You cannot provide patient care or patient contact 

• You cannot intern in a role that has more than 20% clerical work 

• You cannot intern in a role not related to your degree 

• You cannot work in unskilled or casual labor positions e.g. bartender, waiter, call center representative, receptionist etc. 

• You cannot intern under any circumstances in any role in or for a bar or restaurant or for a bar or restaurant chain of any kind, UNLESS you have a Hospitality, Culinary Arts, or Restaurant Management degree. Applicants with any other degree areas that submit a DS-7002 for these sites of employment, will have their DS-7002 forms denied. 

• You cannot intern in any role at a construction company, UNLESS you have a degree in the construction or engineering field.

• You cannot provide clinical medical care 

• You can only have 1 internship at a time. No second part-time internships are allowed. 

• Your internship must be for 32 hours or more a week.

• Your internship must be paid a minimum of $15/hour  

• You cannot work as an independent contractor, or for an independent contractor. 

• You cannot use a recruiter, staffing agency, or any other type of business that is similar to find an internship as this is prohibited under your visa, UNLESS you have a HR or Business Recruitment degree and are being hired directly by the organization. Applicants with any other degree areas that submit a DS-7002 for these sites of employment will have their DS-7002 forms denied, for example, employment recruitment agencies associated with internships related to Facebook. 

• You cannot supervise staff.

• You cannot work for an organization if the employer does not have an employer identification Number.

• You cannot work for an organization if  there is no worker's compensation policy or valid exemption.

• You cannot work for an organization if there is no valid address verified through a third party, such as a website. This cannot be a home address.

• You cannot work for an organization if there is not an organizational employee structure that you can benefit from, that you are being provided continuous on-site supervision, and that there are sufficient resources/support to provide a learning experience for you.

Sign in to the job search update form here using the email address you used when you first registered for the Rian J-1 Visa Program. 

You will be required to submit a job update form at 30 and 45 days after your visa start date. If you are still unemployed after day 50 this will become a weekly requirement. However, we encourage you to submit updates on a consistent basis regardless of how far you are from your 90 days deadline as it is a good way to track your personal job search progress. The frequency and quality of your updates also influences our ability to provide you with the best support and feedback in your internship search. 

Instructions

There are two sections on this form, 1) Internship Updates and 2) Other Action Steps

The 'Internship Updates' section is meant for all updates relating to specific job opportunities. For example: information on job applications you have submitted, discussions with an employer about a potential opportunity at their company, interviews, job offers, etc.

•  All Internship Updates that you submit will be saved and the next time you sign-in to the form you will be prompted to add additional updates on those employers or job opportunities.  

• To see the previous updates that you have submitted about each employer, select “show my past updates with this employer”. 

• If you have no new updates about an employer that you previously submitted updates for, select “no progress/change” as the most recent action step you took with this potential employer and today's date. 

• If you indicate in your update form that you were not offered a job or are no longer interested in an employer that you previously submitted updates for, they will no longer show up on your update form when you sign-in. 

In the 'Other Action Step Updates' section, add all updates that are not related to a specific job opportunity at a company. Examples of updates in this section may include: networking events you have attended, conversations with a professional in your field (with no specific job opportunity being discussed), connections/referrals made by friends, etc. 

• These updates will be saved by Rian, but they will not show up again the next time you sign-in to the update form. 

We know that it is tempting to avoid talking about the visa with potential employers, but it is an inevitable step in your job search process. Although it is acceptable to wait to discuss the visa with employers until after you have had a first round interview, we strongly recommend discussing it with them before progressing too far into the application/interview process because failure to do so can lead to issues later on and result in wasted time. You should always be honest with employers and never lie about the status or length of your work authorization. When discussing the visa with employers, you should emphasize:

• You are already authorized to work in the U.S. and do not require further sponsorship for the length of your current visa. Please remember this does not include your grace period. You cannot work in the U.S. on any day beyond the last day of your visa.

• You have your own health insurance and do not require additional benefits. Though they are welcome to offer you additional coverage, and you can accept.

• All that will be required from employers for your visa is their signature and input for completing the DS-7002. You should explain that this is a short document that describes what your job will be. Additionally, you should tell them that you can complete a draft of this form on your own based on the job description, and all they will need to do is read through to add final details and sign off on it. 

• There are no fees for employers associated with the visa aside from your pay/compensation for the internship. 

• If they are concerned about the need to fill your role upon the end of your visa, you can tell them that Rian accepts new J-1s on a rolling basis and if they are interested in having the role filled with an incoming J-1 to avoid vacancies, we are happy to connect them with J-1 candidates who could fill the role when you finish your visa

• Our team can be available to discuss the visa with them if they have questions or concerns.

You can find our Information for Employers Document, which outlines the responsibilities of employers and the process for hiring a J-1 intern here. If employers have any questions about the visa, you can share our team email address (j1iwt@riancenter.org) with them and our team will gladly set up a time to meet with them and discuss the program.

Please be aware, there is always a risk of being denied re-entry to the U.S. while traveling internationally, but this risk is especially high while you are unemployed and if you start your job beyond 90 days after your visa start date. We strongly discourage J-1s from traveling internationally until they have an internship recorded on their SEVIS record (i.e. a DS-7002 has been completed and approved). As you go through Border Control on your way back into the U.S. after international travel, the Customs and Border Control officers will look for an approved DS-7002 on your SEVIS record and if you do not have one, this may lead to issues with re-entering regardless of how far along you are into your 90 day internship search deadline. 

Rian has no control over the decisions of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. It is essential to read the international travel section of the handbook before traveling, and you must remain in touch with Rian’s team.