J-1 visa hiring: how employers host exchange visitors, and what the program cannot be used for

An employer cannot petition for a J-1 worker. The J-1 belongs to the State Department's Exchange Visitor Program, which it now calls BridgeUSA: a designated sponsor screens the participant and issues Form DS-2019, and the employer takes part as a host organization in categories such as intern (up to 12 months), trainee (up to 18), Summer Work Travel (up to four months), camp counselor, teacher, research scholar and physician. As of November 2026, a host of interns or trainees signs a training plan on Form DS-7002, may not use the program to fill a labor need, and may not involve staffing agencies. Since September 15, 2026 participants are admitted for a fixed period tied to the DS-2019, and some must spend two years in their home country before an H-1B, L-1 or green card.

This page is for the employer or recruiter deciding whether a J-1 placement fits a role and what hosting one involves. For F-1 students and graduates, a different route, see hiring F-1 OPT students; for what you may ask any candidate, see work authorization questions in interviews.

How does J-1 hiring work if the employer cannot petition?

1. Pick the category that matches the role (table below). Each category has its own eligibility rules, duration and limits on the work.
2. Work with a designated sponsor. The State Department lists sponsors by category on j1visa.state.gov. Organizations can also apply to the State Department to become designated sponsors themselves.
3. Expect to be vetted. For interns and trainees, the sponsor collects your EIN, verifies your address, phone and business activity, and asks for proof of workers' compensation coverage. It must visit hosts that have not taken part successfully before and have fewer than 25 employees or less than $3 million in annual revenue (22 CFR 62.22(g)(4)).
4. Sign the training plan. The sponsor may not issue a DS-2019 to an intern or trainee until the Form DS-7002 Training/Internship Placement Plan is complete and signed by every party (62.22(i), (m)).
5. The participant does the rest: pays the SEVIS fee ($220, or $35 for au pairs, camp counselors and Summer Work Travel, under 8 CFR 214.13), applies for the visa and is admitted for the program dates.
6. Complete Form I-9 by the third business day after the start date, as for any hire (see below).
7. Evaluate. Interns and trainees need a concluding evaluation, and a midpoint one for programs over six months, signed by the participant and the immediate supervisor (62.22(l)).

Which J-1 categories involve work for a U.S. employer?

J-1 college and university students may also do academic training, paid or unpaid, for up to 18 months, or 36 months for post-doctoral training, when their responsible officer authorizes it in writing (62.23(f)).

What can a J-1 intern or trainee not be used for?

Section 62.22(b) says training and internship programs "must not be used as substitutes for ordinary employment or work purposes" or to displace American workers. Sponsors certify that hosts do not displace full-time, part-time, temporary or permanent American workers or "serve to fill a labor need." The program exclusions in 62.22(j) bar placements:

• in unskilled or casual labor positions;
• in child care or elder care;
• in clinical work or anything involving patient care or contact, such as nursing, therapy, dentistry or veterinary medicine;
• where more than 20 percent of the duties are clerical;
• in hospitality and tourism programs of six months or longer with fewer than three departmental rotations.

Hosts must also tell the sponsor promptly about changes to the training plan or any emergency, follow federal, state and local occupational safety and health laws, and follow the sponsor's rules, including evaluations (62.22(h)). The State Department's intern page adds that hosts must have sufficient resources, equipment and trained staff. If the work you have in mind fails these tests, the role needs a work visa or a U.S. hire, not a J-1.

Can a staffing agency hire or place J-1 workers?

• Interns and trainees: no. Under 62.22(j)(3), sponsors must not "engage or otherwise cooperate or contract with a Staffing/Employment Agency" to recruit, screen, orient, place, evaluate or train them, or involve such agencies in any other way. Section 62.2 defines a staffing agency as a U.S. business that hires people "for the express purpose of supplying workers to other businesses."
• Summer Work Travel: only on three conditions. Under 62.32(g)(6), the participant must be the agency's employee and paid by it, the agency must provide full-time, primary, on-site supervision, and the agency must effectively control the work site.

Summer Work Travel employers face other limits too. Jobs must be seasonal or temporary; sponsors must vet each employer, including its EIN, business license and workers' compensation policy, before the participant starts; pay must be at least the higher of the applicable federal, state or local minimum wage, overtime included, or what similarly situated U.S. workers get; and 62.32(h) excludes, among others, domestic help, driving jobs that require a driver's license, work mostly between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., commission-based sales, warehousing and order distribution centers, and positions that fit another J category, such as camp counselor. For camp roles, see camp counselor screening questions.

How does Form I-9 work for a J-1 employee?

• Section 1. The employee enters the DS-2019 program end date as the date work authorization expires; a J-1 student uses the end date in the responsible officer's letter, or the DS-2019 end date for academic training.
• Section 2, List A. The foreign passport, a Form I-94 showing J-1 status and the DS-2019 endorsed by the responsible officer together count as one List A document; enter the SEVIS number as the document number and the program end date as the expiration date.
• Or Lists B and C. For example, a state driver's license with the J-1 Form I-94 and endorsed DS-2019 as a List C document.
• Limits. The M-274 says employers may not employ a J-1 knowing the work is outside the approved program, and that a J-1 who changes program or sponsor needs a DS-2019 showing it. Questions about continued authorization go to the responsible officer named on the DS-2019. The general Section 2 steps are in Form I-9 Section 2 instructions.
• J-2 dependents may work only with an EAD from USCIS; their passport and Form I-94 do not count.

What changed for J-1 admissions in September 2026?

A DHS final rule published July 17, 2026 and effective September 15, 2026 ended "duration of status" for J visitors. Under the amended 8 CFR 214.2(j)(1):

• a J-1 is admitted until the program end date on the DS-2019, for no more than four years, and may arrive up to 30 days before the program starts and stay 30 days after it ends;
• a new DS-2019 extending the program does not, by itself, extend lawful status: the participant must file an extension of stay with USCIS, with the new DS-2019, before the current admission period ends;
• while a timely extension is pending, the J-1 may keep working in the program for up to 240 days, or, for applications filed on or before March 18, 2027, until the end date on the DS-2019 filed with it;
• a J-2 whose admission period has expired may not work until USCIS approves the new employment authorization.

So calendar the Form I-94 end date, not only the DS-2019 date. Separately, the State Department proposed on July 30, 2026 to rewrite its rules on program termination, extension and reinstatement (91 FR 48021); that is a proposal, not a rule.

Can you later sponsor a J-1 for an H-1B or a green card?

Sometimes. Under INA 212(e), a J-1 whose program was financed by the U.S. government or their own government, whose country designated their field as one it clearly needs, or who came for graduate medical training cannot receive an immigrant visa, permanent residence or an H or L visa until they have resided and been physically present in their country of nationality or last residence for two years in total, unless they obtain a waiver (USCIS handles hardship and persecution waivers on Form I-612). 8 CFR 248.2 also bars a J-1 who is subject to the requirement and has no waiver from changing status in the United States, other than to A or G, and bars J-1 physicians in graduate medical training from changing status at all, apart from certain state-requested waivers. Have counsel check this before an offer that depends on a later H-1B.

Are any nationalities restricted?

Yes. Proclamation 10998 of December 16, 2025 (90 FR 59717) suspends or limits entry, including on J visas, for nationals of the countries it lists, with exceptions and case-by-case waivers, for people outside the United States without a valid visa on its effective date. Check the current list before you plan a start date around a candidate abroad.

A J-1 hosting checklist

• Match the role to a J-1 category and its limits; if it is really a job to fill, use a work visa instead.
• Choose a sponsor designated for that category and expect vetting and, for small hosts, a site visit.
• Write a genuine training plan: rotations, supervision, skills, no more than 20 percent clerical work.
• Keep staffing agencies out of intern and trainee programs entirely.
• Complete Form I-9 with the DS-2019 and Form I-94, and record the program end date.
• Calendar the I-94 end date and any extension of stay with USCIS.
• Ask counsel about INA 212(e) before promising a path to H-1B or permanent residence.