Host Organization Qualification and Eligibility for the J-1 Internship or Training Program
THE ELIGIBILITY OF HOST ORGANIZATION
Host organizations conduct training and internship programs compliant with Exchange Visitor Program regulations according to the executed written agreement with the GIP. Host organizations will:
● Abide by all federal, state and local labor and occupational health and safety laws, including compensation requirements and regulations.
● Provide business registration and certificate documents.
● Provide proof of a workers’ compensation policy or equivalent insurance that covers J-1 participants (or proof of exemption), a Federal Identification Number and either a DUNS number or copy of a business registration.
● Provide a professional work environment, offering no more than 20% clerical or basic work to participants in an office-type setting (home-based businesses are not permitted).
● Be in business and operational for at least six months and have an English-language website and company-branded email addresses.
To become a Host Organization for a J-1 Trainee or Intern, an organization needs to offer:
● A training program which runs continuously for up to eighteen (18) months, or
● An internship program which runs continuously for up to twelve (12) months in one of the following subject fields: Information, Media, Communications, Management, Business, Commerce, Finance, the Sciences, Engineering, Architecture, Mathematics, Industrial Occupations, Public Administration or Law.
● A structured training/internship program plan (T/IPP) that must both be suitable to the intern’s/trainee’s qualifications and background, and which must be approved by GIP.
● Bona fide on-the-job training or internship activities, such as assisting with appropriate projects.
● Appropriate training activities that do not replace a part-time or full-time American staff member of the company.