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Find Out More:
Apply to Our Program
Please make sure you have read the
General
information page before continuing the application process.
The YMCA's responsibility is to generate
a Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status (DS-2019 form).
The YMCA sends this form (Federal Express) overseas to the applicant,
who then presents it to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their home country.
The U.S. Consulate then decides whether or not to issue the applicant
the J-1 Visa.
The DS-2019 form is not a visa— but an official certificate of eligibility
for a visa. U.S. Consuls have complete authority to deny or approve visas
for any reason. Therefore, the YMCA accepts no responsibility for visa
denials. Click here
to see program fee refund policies.
Some countries are more likely than others to deny visas. The YMCA International
Career Advancement Program staff will review applications carefully and,
if problems are anticipated, the staff will contact host site directors
prior to processing the DS-2019 form.
All applications must be received at least
three weeks before the start date of the program. Programs should start
on the first or fifteenth day of the month. It may take up to a week to
produce the DS-2019 form and up to a week for delivery to a foreign address.
The visa is processed by the U.S. Consulate in the trainees' country;
therefore, the YMCA has no control over the time it takes to process the
actual J-1 visa.
The most common reason for a trainee to experience a delay in receiving
the DS-2019 form is an incomplete mailing address on the application.
The express courier service we use requires delivery to a street address,
not a post office box.
We advice applicants to contact the U.S. Consulate in their home country,
and not to make travel plans or buy a plane ticket until they have
their visa in hand.
Application steps & getting the J-1
visa
The host site and trainee
applicant should follow these steps to complete the application.
Please print all information legibly, or type. Illegible
applications will not be accepted.
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Host
Site downloads and prints the
complete
application form
at the bottom
of this section.
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Host
Site completes the Host
Site Information
page. For more
information regarding Financial Support, click
here.
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Host
Site reads Participation
Agreement and signs under the Host Site section.
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Host Site develops training plan.
To view guidelines on how to design a proper training plan,
click
here. Host Site copies application and supporting
materials and keeps with official personnel records.
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Host Site completes and signs training plan cover page.
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Host Site prepares required attachments as indicated on the
Host Site form.
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Host
Site mails or faxes application, including training plan and
financial support, to the trainee applicant overseas.
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Trainee
applicant completes
Trainee Application, Trainee Essay, and Budget Worksheet.
Trainee applicant must enter
full name as it
appears in passport.
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Trainee applicant prepares attachments: copy of passport
(all pages), Resume, post-secondary transcripts, and police
background check.
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Trainee completes and signs Budget Worksheet.
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Trainee
applicant signs Participation Agreement
where indicated.
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Trainee
applicant signs Training
Plan Cover Page where indicated.
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Trainee
applicant downloads two
Reference forms and gives them
to former
employers or to former university
professors to
complete.
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Trainee
downloads
English Language Assessment form and sends it to former
or present English instructor to complete.
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Trainee
applicant returns completed
Trainee Application,
along with all
attachments to the host site.
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Host Site reviews the Application Checklist to ensure
all documents are included.
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Host Site
sends the complete
application with all documents—via FedEx or
registered mail—in one
envelope to:
International YMCA
Attention: International Career Advancement Program
5 West 63rd Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10023
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Trainee
applicant receives the DS-2019 from the YMCA International
Career Advancement Program, along with Trainee Manual,
insurance information, social security card request letter,
and a copy of the signed training plan.
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Trainee
applicant takes the DS-2019 form to the nearest U.S.
Consulate in home country. The U.S. Consulate issues the J-1
Visa or rejects the trainee's J-1 Visa request.
Note: The
trainee applicant should NOT make travel plans or buy a plane
ticket until the J-1 visa has been issued by the U.S. Consulate
Click here to download complete application
Click here for Participant Agreement Only
Click here for Host Information Only
Click here for Trainee Information Only
Click here for Training Plan format Only
Reference form
The trainee must receive at least one reference
from a former employer or teacher. References must be either written in
or translated to English. You can download the reference form here:
Click
here to download reference form
All trainees must have an English Language
Assessment Form completed by either a certified
teacher of English or by the trainee's direct supervisor at the host site.
This report will be used to demonstrate the trainee has sufficient English
language ability to benefit from the training program.
Click
here to download English language assessment form
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