Important Information: Summer Work/Travel and Seasonal Worker Programs

The Embassy supports and encourages students to take advantage of summer programs and study opportunities in the United States. Most of these programs are very rewarding and provide valuable experience.

However, the Embassy would like to advise students to be aware of the difference between the pre-arranged (premium) programs and the self-arranged (independent) programs.  In the premium programs, the  U.S. sponsoring agency guarantees that the student will have a pre-arranged job and accomodation upon arrival in the United States.  The  self-arranged (independent) program  offers no such guarantees;  rather, the students must find their own jobs and permanent accomodation (with some assistance available) after they arrive in the U.S.  In some cases, finding an appropriate job can be difficult, especially in locations that are very popular with large numbers of J-1 student job seekers.  We advise students who choose the self-arranged option to be wary of any third party who tells them they can guarantee them a job in the United States in exchange for an extra monetary payment (over and above the fees charged by the J-1 Summer Work and Travel agency). 

Also, applicants should be aware of the difference between J-1 Summer Work/Travel programs, which are for university students only, and H-2B programs which are for seasonal workers who need not be students. In the H-2B category, the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade received complaints from applicants using the U.S. Tax Care agency.  In the J-1 Summer Work and Travel category, the Embassy received unresolved complaints from students who traveled on programs sponsored by the SEEA agency.

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