Student Exchange Alliance
JOBS IN STUDENT EXCHANGE

INFORMATION ON WORK N TRAVEL, H2B, and TRAINING IN THE USA

Work in student exchange as a Representative or Manager.

 

YOUR COMMUNITY NEEDS YOU AS AN AREA REPRESENTATIVE!

AREA REPRESENTATIVES from the SEA, Student Exchange Alliance member programs, are making a difference in their communities by offering families the opportunity to HOST INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE STUDENTS from over 60 countries! According to the US Department of State, the #1 diplomat for America is the thousands of families and representatives making a difference in their communities for peace and understanding. AREA REPRESENTATIVES are building and developing relationships with schools, host families, and students, as they ensure that the experience is a success for everyone.

JOIN AMERICA’S LEADING EXCHANGE STUDENT PROGRAMS AT THE STUDENT EXCHANGE ALLIANCE

AS AN AREA REPRESENTATIVE, YOU:

• Help recruit and select host families in your selected area
• Assist your host families in selecting a student just for their family
• Build and maintain relationships with local schools
• Represent and promote exchange programs in your community
  
• Provide support and guidance to students and host families during their experience
  
• Represent an exchange program with industry leading programming

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THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN AREA REPRESENTATIVE:

• Experience the joys and rewards of being a "Ambassador for America"
• Expand your relationships, strengthen ties with neighbors, friends, civic and religious groups in your community
• Get to know students from many countries and help welcome them to your hometown
• Be an integral part of a life-changing experience that families and students will never forget
• Experience the satisfaction of being instrumental in making a difference for diversity understanding in your community
• Be a part of enriching the lives of those around you through exchange

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WHAT WE PROVIDE OUR AREA REPRESENTATIVES:

• Comprehensive training to prepare you to recruit, match and supervise students and families
• 24/7 support from our full-time professional staff
• Opportunities to meet and develop relationships with over 500 Local Coordinators across the USA
• Cash and travel incentives/rewards such as the “Celebration of Success” conference to international locations
• Industry leading programming, materials and support from fully staffed Regional Offices throughout the USA
• Support from a Marketing and Outreach Office with trend-setting activities on behalf of all local representatives

Have questions about working in student exchange?  Fill out our information request form or email us today.

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OPENINGS THROUGHOUT AMERICA AS A REGIONAL ADVISOR:

Regional Advisor is an entry level into student exchange management. As a Regional Advisor you will be learning tools needed for being a manager. Your mini Region under your direction will give you the experience to develop into a Regional Manager or Regional Director.  As a Regional Advisor, you will still maintain your activity in being an area representative and at the same time recruit, hire, train, motivate, supervise and celebrate with your area representatives. You will receive guidance and direction from your Regional Director.

After the opportunity to manage your own mini Region, you can better determine if management is what you want to pursue.

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WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES AS EXPERIENCED MANAGERS:

Managers from some of the Industry’s leading programs have celebrated the SEA way to success. You will experience a proven system for success experienced by many very successful Managers.

Contact us for more information about career opportunities in student exchange with SEA.

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NEW!  OPPORTUNITIES AS A PAID VOLUNTEER OR TRUE VOLUNTEER

An Industry first for Student Exchange is the Paid Volunteer Representative.  As a Paid Volunteer Representative, the normal stipend paid to a local representative is paid to your local school club, sport club, local organization or church club you select. You will determine who receives your benefits.

For more information on this innovative approach to significant fund raising potential, contact SEA today.

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PROFESSIONAL TRAINING FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

The Professional Training program provides exchange visitors the opportunity to enhance their skills and improve their knowledge of American techniques and methodologies in their chosen career field through participation in a structured training program. Such training shall not duplicate a trainee participant's prior training and experience.  

The US Department of State has revised its regulations regarding trainees and interns to, among other things, eliminate the distinction between “non-specialty occupations” and “specialty occupations,” establish a new internship program, and modify the selection criteria for participation in a training program. The new regulations also require sponsors to screen, vet, and enter into written agreements with third parties who assist them in recruiting, selecting, screening, orienting, placing, training, or evaluating foreign nationals who participate in training and internship programs. Sponsors must fully complete and secure signatures on a Form DS-7002, Training/Internship Placement Plan for each trainee and intern prior to issuing a Form DS-2019.

Count on SEA to guide you through the Professional Training program requirements.  Contact SEA today for more information.

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WORK N TRAVEL FOR INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

INTO, an SEA Alliance member, is designated by the U.S. Department of State to sponsor participants in an exchange visitor program under the USA Work & Travel Program. INTO is able to provide quality workers to many US businesses with various staffing shortfalls during the peak summer or winter seasons.

• International participants on the USA Work and Travel program are university/college students with strong English skills. These students are authorized to accept employment in the United States for up to 4 months.

• The participants enroll for a period that matches their official summer holiday in their home country.

• In the US, the Summer Season is available for northern hemisphere participants from May 1st to October 1st. Southern hemisphere participants participate in the Winter Season from November 15 to April 15. After their working commitment, participants have an optional travel period to sightsee and experience American culture and landscape.

Vocational students are not eligible.

Program regulations permit students to participate in this program more than once. Participating students are to receive the same salary and benefits as those received by U.S. citizens in the same or similar positions, and sponsors are required to inform participants about the Federal Minimum Wage requirement. Sponsors must also provide participants, prior to their departure to the United States, with the name and location of their employer, as well as information regarding any contractual obligations related to their acceptance of paid employment in the United States if employment is pre-arranged.

For those participants for whom employment has not been pre-arranged, sponsors must:

1) Ensure that participants have sufficient resources to support themselves during their search for employment;

2) Provide participants with pre-departure information that explains how to seek employment and how to secure lodging in the United States;

3) Prepare and provide a job directory that includes at least as many job listings as the number of participants entering the United States without pre-arranged employment; and,

4) Undertake reasonable efforts to secure suitable employment for participants unable to find jobs on their own after one week of their arrival in the United States.

Program participants may work anywhere in the United States. However, US Department of State regulations prohibit the placement of program participants as domestic help in U.S. households or in positions requiring them to invest their own money for inventory, such as door-to-door sales.

Most students typically work in non-skilled service positions at resorts, hotels, restaurants, and amusement parks. However, summer internships in U.S. businesses and other organizations (i.e., architecture, science research, graphic arts, publishing and other media communication, advertising, computer software and electronics, and legal offices, etc.) are allowed, as long as the internship does not exceed the program’s four-month maximum duration, and is completed during the student’s summer vacation.

Contact SEA for additional information on the Work & Travel programs of our Alliance members.

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H2B Work USA Program

Every year, many employers face the dilemma of a shortage of American workers for certain positions during peak seasons. Throughout the U.S. hospitality industry, hotel properties hire individuals from countries around the world under the H-2B Visa Program to help meet the seasonal needs for housekeepers, kitchen help, gardeners, etc. Participants of the USA H-2B program are legally able to work in the U.S. for a maximum of 10 months out of the year.

About the Program

The H-2B Program provides an opportunity to obtain a temporary work visa for seasonal work in the USA. Offered positions do not need to correspond with one's work experience or field of study. A work permit is issued for a minimum of 4 months and a maximum of 10 months with a possibility to extend it for two more terms.

Compensation

Employees from foreign countries will receive the same wages as US citizens would working in the same position. Most of the employers pay starting from $7.50 to $10.00 per hour.

Accommodation

Participants in the H-2B program do not receive any housing assistance. To the extent possible, information will be provided on how to find accommodations in the U.S. The cost of accommodations can range anywhere from $300-$600 per  month for shared accommodations, depending on the location. Rate of pay is higher in cities where cost of living is higher.

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Visa

The length of the visa is dependent upon the length of the contract with the employer, but the applicant may obtain the H-2B visa for a maximum of 10 months with a possibility of extending it in 10 month increments for a total of 3 years. Note: The visa applies only to one employer and position. This means that the employee cannot have a different job and work for a different employer other than the one stated in the visa.

The H-2B Work USA program includes:

• Recruitment, screening, and placement of employees into hotel properties
• Drafting of employment agreements
• Assistance with processing the Department of Labor certification application
• Processing the H- 2B Visa petition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Providing a Participant Handbook and Inside the USA guide for each employee
• Ongoing 24-hour support for employers and employees

For more information on the H-2B Work USA program, click here and complete the contact information or e-mail us at gene@sea-usa.org.

 

You can trust the Student Exchange Alliance to provide quality exchange and work experience programs.