There are three visa options for foreign nationals seeking employment training in the United States.<\/p>\n
J1 Visa \u2013 Intern<\/strong><\/p>\n Foreign nationals who are currently in school in a foreign country or who have graduated from a foreign school in the past 12 months can get a J1 visa for an internship. \u00a0The internship cannot be in an unskilled or medical care field.\u00a0 A US employer can offer the internship and is required to pay significant fees to an approved J1 sponsor (an agency which performs a site visit where the internship will occur and issue paperwork used to obtain the J1 visa).<\/p>\n The US employer must provide entry level training, provide program evaluations, and provide continuous onsite supervision of the trainee.\u00a0 Interns must undergo multiple evaluations by the J1 sponsor to be eligible to continue with the program.\u00a0 The maximum duration of the J1 intern visa is 12 months.<\/p>\n J1 Visa \u2013 Trainee<\/strong><\/p>\n Foreign nationals who have a college degree and one year of employment experience or no degree and five years of experience are eligible for a J1 visa for training.\u00a0 The training cannot be in an unskilled or medical field.\u00a0 A US employer can offer the training and is required to pay significant fees to an approved J1 sponsor (an agency which performs a site visit where the internship will occur and issue paperwork used to obtain the J1 visa).<\/p>\n The training visa cannot be used to fill a position that would ordinarily be filled by a part time of full time employee.\u00a0 Site visits must be conducted by the J1 sponsor prior to the issuance of the J1 visa and during the training program.\u00a0 The J1 sponsor will also ensure that the trainers are properly selected, the trainees are properly supervised, and will make periodic evaluations to ensure compliance.\u00a0 The training must be offered in a full time capacity defined as 32 hours\/wk minimum and the maximum duration of the J1 trainee visa is 18 months.<\/p>\n H3 Visa \u2013 Trainee<\/strong><\/p>\n Foreign national who wish to receive training in the US (with no education or work experience requirements) may do so with an H3 visa.\u00a0 The H3 visa requires a US employer to apply for the visa but there is no sponsoring agency as required by the J1 visa (and no sponsor fees or site visits).<\/p>\n The US employer may provide training in any area other than medical training and custodial care is allowed but must be incidental to the training program.\u00a0 \u00a0The US employer must offer a structured training program with one or more qualified staff members to provide the training.\u00a0 This visa cannot be used to displace an American worker but employment incidental to the training is permissible (on the job training).<\/p>\n The training must be designed to benefit the foreign national in pursuing a career abroad and you must show that the training is not available in their home country.\u00a0 The training can be offered in a part time or full time capacity, the trainee can be paid for the training and the maximum duration of a H3 visa is 24 months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"