J1 Visa Application

Your registration for our J1 Visa USA service begins with the creation of your password-protected profile on the MyIntraxPortal. Your MyIntrax profile contains your personal data as stated in your passport. Since the DS-2019 form is issued on this basis, this information must be accurate. Your profile also includes information about your course of study, internship area, and J1 host company so that we can contact your supervisor directly and request the necessary documents (Host Company Agreement and DS-7002). We and our American colleagues at Intrax have access to your MyIntrax profile, which is also connected to SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System).

• Valid passport (valid until at least your departure from the USA)
• English resume in American format, i.e., in reverse chronological order
  
• Certificate of enrollment or degree certificates, including English translations (you can translate these yourself)
• Official list of courses taken (so far) during your studies
• Proof of Financial Responsibility (If you do not earn any money in the USA or earn less than $2000 per month, you must be able to prove that you have $2000 per month at your disposal. You may need to submit a guarantee or financial statement to reach this amount.)
• Signed Contract

Based on the information you provide about your J1 internship company in the USA, we will contact your supervisor by email immediately after your registration. You will always be copied into our email correspondence. In order to save us and you time, we will confirm that your internship company does not employ more than one J1 intern per 5 full-time employees (5:1 ratio). You can, of course, clarify this question yourself in advance.

Once your documents and those of your internship provider are complete and we have verified that they comply with J1 visa guidelines, we will arrange a short video call to interview you, clarify any final questions and assess your English language skills. We will speak to you in English because we need to ensure that your English skills are good enough for professional communication with supervisors, colleagues, and customers.

Once your payment has been received, our head office will carry out a final review of your application and documents. If your J1 host company has not yet worked with Intrax, a member of staff from our head office in San Francisco will ask your supervisor to arrange an appointment for a validation call. During this call, they will reconfirm that the company and the internship comply with J1 guidelines.

The final Training Plan DS-7002 will then be sent to you and your supervisor for online signature (Docusign). If no on-site visit is necessary and the validation call takes place immediately, the DS-2019 will be issued within two weeks.

You can apply for your J1 visa at the US Consulate using the online DS-160 application form. Intrax will have already paid the SEVIS fee for you at this point, and you can download the proof of payment online. We will also provide you with detailed instructions on how to fill out the form and your SEVIS ID, which you will need for the DS-160.

You will then receive a confirmation page. Please print this out and bring it with you to your visa appointment.

Once you have successfully completed the DS-160, you can pay your visa fee and make an appointment at the consulate.

To ensure a successful interview, we will provide you with the following information in advance:

• SEVIS ID number (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) by email so that you can make an appointment at the US consulate
• Information about the interview and paying the consulate fee
• Information about the program on site: check-in, contact person, Social Security card, travel, change of address, etc.
  
• Please enter the appointment in your profile and then add the date of issue of your visa and your flight details.
  

The interview at the US Consulate usually only takes a few minutes. You cannot bring a smartphone or other electronic devices to your appointment. So print out all documents in advance and bring them with you in a folder to keep them clean and tidy.

• Appointment confirmation including confirmation of payment of the visa fee and clearly visible barcodes
• Confirmation Page DS-160
• DS-2019 Certificate of Eligibility (remember to sign it)
• Proof of payment of the SEVIS fee I-901
• Passport (valid for at least the duration of the program)
• Passport photo (in accordance with the specifications)
• Any other program-specific documents (e.g., DS-7002 for interns and trainees)

After approximately 5–7 business days, you will receive your passport and visa in the mail. The U.S. Embassy advises that you wait to book your flight until you receive your passport and visa. No one is liable if the issuance of the visa is delayed and the flight has to be rebooked at a cost.

The Intrax handbook is available for download as a resource in your MyIntrax profile and contains important information about your time on the J1 internship program in the USA.
To enter the country, you will need your passport with the visa and the DS-2019 form. You must also be able to provide your first address in the USA. Your visa will be activated upon entry. It is very important that you check in on the MyIntrax portal within three days and respond to the monthly feedback notifications so that Intrax can fulfill its monitoring duties as a J1 sponsor.

If your internship is paid, you'll need a Social Security Card. Apply 4-5 days after arriving in the US with your DS-2019, I-94 number, and passport. See the Intrax Handbook (page 11) for details. If you already have a card, bring it with you - Social Security numbers are valid for life.

The Social Security number serves as identification in the US for opening bank accounts, signing cell phone contracts, and more. Consider applying even if your internship is unpaid.