J1 Visa USA - Application Process

Your MyIntrax profile contains your personal data as in the passport. Since the DS-2019 form is issued on this basis, the registration must be correct and complete. In addition, your profile includes information about your field of study, internship, potentially prior work experience and your J1 host company, so that we can contact your supervisor and request the necessary documents (Host Company Agreement and DS-7002).

You can stop the registration at any time and continue later or change information. The start and end dates for your internship in the USA can also be postponed in accordance with your host company until the DS-2019 has been issued. Your MyIntrax profile serves as a communication base throughout your program.

If you have dependents that will be applying for the J-2 Visa, you can use this registration to enter their information as well.

We will contact the supervisor you have listed in your application to request two documents. You will also receive a copy of this e-mail. In addition to requesting documents, we ask your company to confirm that they do not employ more than one J1 intern or trainee per 5 full-time employees (5: 1 ratio). You may also wish to clarify this yourself in advance to save time and costs.

Host Company Agreement
We will e-mail the Host Company Agreement and request the completed and signed contract. It verifies their compliance with the regulations for the Exchange Visitor Program (22 CFR Part 62) of the US Department of State that your position qualifies as an internship or training, which does not replace an American employee and must be understood as a cultural exchange program.

DS-7002 Training Internship Placement Plan
We will send your supervisor the Training Internship Placement Plan DS-7002. The first two sections cover company data such as the tax number, annual revenue, number of employees, workers' compensation insurance and, if applicable, the amount of a stipend or other forms of compensation.

The third section is divided into practical modules, so-called phases. Phases may either be a rotation through different departments or several modules in the same department. The phases serve to show a structured professional development.

Each phase asks for information about the intern’s/trainee’s role, goals and objectives, qualification of the supervisor, specific skills to be learned, method of supervision, evaluation and planned cultural activities.

Interns generally have to go through one phase, except in the field of Hospitality & Tourism which requires several phases depending on the lengths of the program. For example, a six-month internship in a hotel requires three phases.

Trainees must go through several phases in the DS-7002 in all traineeship areas, with no phases lasting more than four months.

One question in the training plan is about the planned cultural activities; it is important that you get the opportunity to experience the American way of life outside the company. This is because the J1 Visa category is intended to support cultural diplomacy and international understanding.

Once we have verified that your documents and the host company’s documents are complete and meet the J1 visa guidelines, we arrange a telephone interview with you. This serves to answer any last questions you might have and to confirm that you fulfill the English language requirement. We need to verify that your English skills are advanced enough for professional communication with supervisors, employees and customers.

After the telephone interview, we will invoice you the J1 program fees for our visa service. Only at this point does your registration become binding, meaning that a cancelation would, from then, entail fees. 

Upon receipt of your payment, Intrax as J-1 visa sponsor will conduct the final evaluation of all documents. If your J1 host company has not yet cooperated with Intrax, we will ask your supervisor to schedule a convenient time for a validation call to confirm all placement details. This call is part of J1 compliance and needs to take place in order for you to receive the DS-2019. 

After the validation call, you and your supervisor will be notified to electronically sign the final training plan DS-7002. If no on-site visit is required and the validation call takes place directly upon Intrax contacting your supervisor, the DS-2019 will be issued within two weeks. Intrax will send it directly to you via Email.

Since we offer the J1 visa service for internship placements nationwide, we can unfortunately not offer accommodation. The best source of information regarding housing is probably your J1 host company and possibly former interns. If they cannot refer you to specific apartments, perhaps they can point you to a reputable hostel or other inexpensive housing opportunities for the first month. You can then look for a rental place while already being on site.
There are a number of housing portal websites offering shared and furnished rooms or apartments. Please be aware with scams with regard to deposits. Looking at the housing portals will give you an idea about the rent you will need to calculate for your stay.

The Intrax program manual is available for you in your MyIntrax Profile. Please use it as a resource for important information about your time during your J1 internship in the USA.

When entering the USA, you need your passport with the visa and the attached DS-2019. You must also provide your first address in the USA. Your J1 visa will get activated upon entry.

It is very important that you do the check-in in the MyIntrax portal within three days since Intrax needs to update your whereabout in the SEVIS database of the U.S. government. Please also react to the feedback notifications every month so that Intrax can fulfill the monitoring tasks as a J1 sponsor.

Social Security Card
If your internship is paid, you need a Social Security Card. You can apply for this card approximately 4-5 days after your check-in in the USA. For further information on the Social Security Card (SSC), please refer to the Intrax program manual. For the Social Security Card application, you need the DS-2019, the I-94 number, and your passport. If you have already applied for a Social Security Card in the US, you do not have to apply for a new one, just make sure you know your SSC number. The Social Security number is valid for a lifetime!

Another general note: The Social Security Card and the Social Security number noted on it are often used in the USA as a form of identification. You might need to provide this number, for example, if you want to open a bank account or purchase a mobile phone contract. Thus, you might want to apply for the card even if your internship is not paid.

Enjoy your stay, learn a lot, keep in touch and perhaps add a link to us when writing a blog. We appreciate feedback, impressions and notes from the road.