Work And Travel (WAT) - USA
The idea of foreign students working in the USA during their summer Vacation has been around since 1945.
The programme was designed to foster goodwill among young people throughout the world after World War II.
It provides a terrific way for young people to finance their travel while gaining exposure to another culture and making friends.
What Is Work And Travel (WAT) - USA
The programme falls under the exchange visitor programme which allows foreign students to work legally for a period of up to four months –June to October each year.
Students who are accepted under the programme are granted a DS2019 form which is taken to the US embassy to obtain a J1 visa
Who Can Go On The Programme
To be eligible for the WAT USA you must be:
- A full-time student
- Pursuing a 2-4 year diploma/degree programme at an accredited tertiary-level institution
- Between 18 to 30 years
- Willing to attend orientation and interview session in your home country.
- A national of the country from which you are participating
Job Information
"Explore Your World" and our programmme sponsor will offer one job placement to each participant.
Many of these jobs are casual, entry level jobs in hospitality industry: such housekeeping, amusement park attendant, hotel maintenance and can be in any of the fifty mainland states of America.
You may choose however, to find your own job by using internet ,help of friends/families/lecturer etc.
You must indicate at the point of registration which option you will be using by selecting Job-Assisted or Self-arranged.
Self-Arranged Job Option
If you are arranging your own job in the USA bear the following in mind :
Try and find your job by first week in January.
You must submit a written offer of employment with your completed application.
An official employment offer has to be on a company’s letter head and should have the
following:
- Company’s contact address and telephone
- Title of job being offered and brief job description.
- Length of time you will be employed ,the salary you will be paid, number of work hours for the week.
- Housing arrangement.
Programme Conditions
- The US embassy makes the final decision on whether to grant the work permit to each participant and we therefore have no influence over their decisions.
- The documents submitted becomes the property of the company and will not be returned to the participant.
- Applicants found guilty of falsify their documents will not be refunded and further actions will be contemplated.
- Explore Your World has the sole discretion to select or reject each applicant for the DS2019 form.
- Participants who are refused their work permits by the US Embassy must return their DS2019 form to Explore Your World in order to get their refund.
- Your Registration for the programme signifies your intent to comply with the requirements ,conditions and terms of the programme.