SUMMER WORK
and TRAVEL

The State Department BridgeUSA Summer Work & Travel Program is an Exchange Visitor Program designed to achieve the educational objectives of international and cultural exchange by involving young adults in the daily life of the host country through temporary employment opportunities. It is vital that the participants return home to share their experiences and encourage Americans to participate in the educational and cultural programs in other countries. As a host employer of a BridgeUSA SWT participant, you will be part of the US public diplomacy initiative aimed at making the world’s youth more aware and appreciative of the American culture.

Our participants come from more than 30 countries. Summer participant come from Northern Hemisphere countries and winter participants come from Southern Hemisphere countries.

Our programs run in spring, summer, and winter. Spring participants arrive in March and April and are available to work until June or July. Summer participants arrive between May and July and can work until August, September, or October. Winter participants arrive in December and can work until March or April. Exchange Visitor participants may only assist your staffing needs during the peak season of the business. Participants may not fulfill full year staffing needs or replace domestic employees but supplement your workforce during seasonal needs to add diversity and a culturally reach opportunity to your business.

Participants are allowed to work during their university summer break for up to 4 months. The average program runs from 2.5 – 4 months.

Positions include, but are not limited to cook, cashier, banquets set-up, dining room attendant, waiter/waitress, server, busser, housekeeper, fast food worker, laundry attendant, hotel desk clerk, dishwasher, lifeguard, ticket taker, park service, parking attendant, game attendant, ride operator, ski lift operator, food service, etc.

Participants may not be placed:

• In positions that could bring notoriety or disrepute to the Exchange Visitor Program;

• In sales positions that require participants to purchase inventory that they must sell in order to support themselves;

• In domestic help positions in private homes (e.g., child care, elder care, gardener, chauffeur);

• As pedicab or rolling chair drivers or operators;

• As operators or drivers of vehicles or vessels for which drivers’ licenses are required regardless of whether they carry passengers or not;

• In positions related to clinical care that involves patient contact;

• In any position in the adult entertainment industry (including, but not limited to jobs with escort services, adult book/video stores, and strip clubs);

• In positions requiring work hours that fall predominantly between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am;

• In positions declared hazardous to youth by the Secretary of Labor at Subpart E of 29 CFR part 570;

• In positions that require sustained physical contact with other people and/or adherence to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Universal Blood and Body Fluid Precautions guidelines (e.g., body piercing, tattooing, massage, manicure);

• In positions that are substantially commission-based and thus do not guarantee that participants will be paid minimum wage in accordance with federal and state standards;

• In positions involved in gaming and gambling that include direct participation in wagering and/or betting;

• In positions in chemical pest control, warehousing, catalogue/online order distribution centers;

• In positions with traveling fairs or itinerant concessionaires;

• In jobs that do not allow participants to work alongside U.S. citizens and interact regularly with U.S. citizens and to experience U.S. culture during the workday portion of their Summer Work Travel programs;

• With employers that fill non-seasonal or non-temporary job openings with exchange visitors with staggered vacation schedules;

• In positions that require licensing;

• In positions for which there is another specific J visa category (e.g., Camp Counselor, Trainee, Intern);

• In positions with staffing agencies, unless the placements meet the following three criteria:

— Participants must be employees of and paid by the staffing agencies

— Staffing agencies must provide full-time, primary, on-site supervision of the participants

— Staffing agencies must effectively control the work sites, e.g., have hands-on management responsibility for the participants

Participants must be scheduled at least 32 hour per week, and they expect to work between 32 and 40 hours per week. The number of hours worked after that is up to the host employer. Overtime compensation laws differ in each state and these laws apply to our participants.

Host employer-provided housing is encouraged since it ensures that participants live in affordable, safe, and conveniently located accommodations, but host employers do not have to provide housing. If host employers do not provide housing, we ask for assistance in locating and vetting either LifeTRAVELED-referred housing or participant self-arranged housing.