J-1 Summer Work Travel: Work and Travel in the US as a Student

Summer Work Travel (SWT) is one of the J-1 exchange visitor categories. It lets students experience US life by working a seasonal job and traveling during their university summer vacation.

You must be:

• Enrolled full-time and actively pursuing a degree or full-time course of study at an accredited, classroom-based post-secondary institution outside the US. Final-year students can qualify if they are enrolled when they apply.
• Finished with at least one semester (or equivalent) of post-secondary study.
• Proficient enough in English to work and live in an English-speaking setting.
• Pre-placed in a job before entering the US, unless you are a citizen of a Visa Waiver Program country.

Your program must fall within your country's main summer break between academic years, and you must return home before classes start again.

Jobs must be seasonal or temporary, need little training, and let you work alongside US citizens and interact with them regularly. Common jobs are in resorts, hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, national park concessions, and retail.

Sponsors cannot place you in:

• Domestic help in private homes (childcare, elder care, gardening, driving).
• Jobs driving vehicles or boats that need a license, or pedicab and rolling chair jobs.
• Clinical jobs with patient contact.
• Adult entertainment.
• Work mostly between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
• Jobs the Department of Labor lists as hazardous to youth.
• Jobs with sustained physical contact, such as massage, tattooing, or manicures.
• Commission-based jobs that don't guarantee minimum wage, or sales jobs where you must buy inventory.
• Gambling jobs involving betting, chemical pest control, warehouses, and online order distribution centers.
• Traveling fairs.
• Jobs through most staffing agencies.
• Jobs that another J-1 category covers, such as camp counselor, intern, or trainee.

Your sponsor must vet any job you find after arrival within 72 hours, and you must not start work until it is vetted.

• You must be paid at least the federal, state, or local minimum wage, whichever is highest, plus overtime where the law requires it.
• Employers must make good-faith efforts to give you the weekly hours in your job offer.
• Your sponsor must contact you at least monthly and help if problems arise. Sponsors must also give you the State Department's emergency hotline number.
• Housing is not always provided. Get the address and cost in writing before you pay anything.

• The program can last up to 4 months during your long summer break.
• After the program, you may have up to 30 days to travel in the US. You can't work during that time.
• You can take part again in a later year, as long as you still qualify.

Admission period. A DHS rule published on July 17, 2026 would replace "duration of status" with a fixed admission date for J-1 visitors (the program end date on your DS-2019, up to 4 years, plus 30 days). It was due to start on September 15, 2026, but a federal court in Massachusetts blocked it on September 14, 2026. For now, J-1 visitors are still admitted for duration of status. See fixed admission period status.

Proposed J-1 rule. On July 30, 2026, the State Department proposed stricter J-1 rules on program terminations, extensions, and fixing SEVIS errors. Comments close on September 28, 2026. It is only a proposal and is not in effect.

SWT often costs participants a lot before they earn anything. Typical costs:

• Sponsor and overseas agent fees. Sponsors must report participant price lists to the State Department and give you an itemized list.
• SEVIS fee (Form I-901): paid online to DHS before the interview. Au pairs, camp counselors, and Summer Work Travel participants pay a lower rate. See ICE's I-901 page for the current amount.
• Visa application fee: $185 as of September 2026 for J visas. Participants in certain government-funded programs are exempt.
• Visa integrity fee: A $250 visa integrity fee, created by a 2025 law, is charged when a visa is issued. As of September 2026, consulates have rolled it out unevenly, so check your embassy's fee page.
• Health insurance, flights, the first weeks of rent, and local transport.

Don't pay agents who guarantee a visa or ask you to pay extra to "fix" a job. See scam protection.

• No dependents: you can't bring a spouse or children on J-2 visas in this category.
• Two-year rule: Some J-1 visitors must live in their home country for 2 years after the program before they can get an H or L visa, a K visa, or a green card. It applies if your program was funded by the US or your government, if your skills are on your country's Exchange Visitor Skills List, or if you came for graduate medical training. Your DS-2019 and visa usually show whether an officer thinks it applies. Waivers are possible through the State Department's Waiver Review Division. Most SWT participants are not subject to it, but check your documents.
• Staying longer: SWT does not lead to another status. Changing to a student visa inside the US is difficult, and you are expected to return to your studies. If you want to study in the US, apply for an F-1 visa from home.

• The officer doubts you will return to your studies at home.
• You can't show full-time enrollment or completed study.
• The job offer is vague or in a banned category.
• Weak English in the interview.

Since 2025, the State Department has asked F, M, and J applicants to set their social media accounts to public so officers can review them. See visa interview tips.

Travel ban. Proclamation 10998 took effect on January 1, 2026, and has no end date. It limits visas for nationals of 39 countries: for 19 countries it suspends almost all visas, and for the other 20 it suspends immigrant visas plus B, F, M, and J visas. USCIS is also holding many pending cases from these countries for extra review. Check Travel ban status before you pay fees or book travel.