These two exchange programs in the United States may interest you

Have you thought about participating in an exchange program in the United States? Do you want to gain valuable work experience in the United States during your summer vacation, or have you thought about becoming a Camp Counselor?

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The United States Government offers exchange opportunities for students, teachers, and young workers to experience life in the United States and share their culture and ideas with the American people. Two of these opportunities are the programs Summer Work Travel and Camp Counsellor.

What is the purpose of these two exchange programs in the United States and when do they take place?

The Summer Work Travel program offers college students at foreign institutions the opportunity to gain experience while working seasonal or temporary jobs and traveling to the United States during their summer term.

Each country has its own Summer Work Travel season; for Colombia, participants can travel between May 1 and August 20 of each year. Through the smaller Camp Counselor program, graduate students, youth workers, professors, or others with specialized skills interact and work with young Americans at camps across the United States.

What is the purpose of these two exchange programs in the United States and when do they take place?

The Summer Work Travel program offers University students in foreign institutions the opportunity to gain experience while working seasonal or temporary jobs and traveling to the United States during their summer term. Each country has its own Summer Work Travel season; for Colombia, participants can travel between May 1 and August 20 of each year.

Through the smaller Camp Counselor program, graduate students, youth workers, professors, or others with specialized skills interact and work with young Americans at camps across the United States.

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How many people participate in these programs? Where do the participants go?

Approximately 40,000 students from around the world participated in the Summer Work Travel program in 2021, including some 2,400 Colombians. Colombia ranks sixth in the number of participants in this program from countries around the world. The states with the most Summer Work Travel visitors were Colorado, Wisconsin, Maryland, New York and California. In 2021, there were nearly 6,000 participants from around the world in the Camp Counselor program, of which about 450 were Colombian. The top five destinations in the United States were New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, Wisconsin and Massachusetts.

What are the requirements for the Summer Work Travel and Camp Counselor’ programs?

For the Summer Work Travel program, students must:

– Speak English well enough to interact in an English-speaking environment.
– Be enrolled in a postsecondary institution and actively pursuing a bachelor’s degree or other full-time study at an accredited in-person postsecondary institution outside the United States.
– Have completed at least one semester or the equivalent of post-secondary academic studies.
– Have a job before entry, unless it is a visa-exempt country.

For the Camp Counselor program, participants must:

– Speak English well enough to interact with young Americans.
– Be foreign postgraduate students, youth workers, teachers or people with specialized knowledge.
– Be at least 18 years old.

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Can I participate in the “Summer Work Travel” or “Camp Counselor” program with my current tourist visa?

No, you cannot use your B1/B2 visa to participate in the Summer Work Travel or Camp Counselor program. If you already have a B1/B2 visa, you must make an appointment for a J1 visa at the Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV) Unit at the US Embassy.

Applicants must work directly with program sponsors to find opportunities; there is no need to use a visa processor or travel agency. The official sponsors of the program can be found here.

Are there visa interview appointments at the Embassy at this time?

The US Embassy in Bogota is working at full capacity and doing everything possible to enable appointments for exchange program participants. However, appointments are limited so we encourage applicants to schedule their visa interview as soon as possible. Scheduling an appointment at the last minute can cause you to miss the start date of your exchange program.

For more information, visit the US Department of State’s Exchange Programs website. click here and here.

UNITED STATES CONSULATE

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