Summer Work Travel in the USA - Starting at £640!
This is more than a holiday, it’s a different life
The world’s a big, old place. It’s time you saw it.
Our J-1 Summer Work Travel Programme is your chance to spend a summer working and living in the United States.
What’s even better – your experience can be completely tailored to you. Whether it’s serving ice cream on the Californian coast, helping tourists in Orlando’s theme parks, or serving up coffees in Seattle’s café scene, it’s a country with abundant opportunities to offer.
50 years’ experience helping young people experience the United States.
The J-1 Summer Work Travel programme brings all the various parts of spending a summer abroad, into one place.
All guided and overseen by our expertise. Finding a seasonal job, interviewing, obtaining a J-1 visa, getting ready for the trip, dealing with taxes and pay checks, complying with regulations – it’s a lot.
Key Benefits
A true cultural exchange
Engage with diverse communities, make lifelong friends, and develop a global perspective.
Career development
Enhance your CV with hands-on experience in various seasonal business industries.
Personal growth
Build confidence, independence, and adaptability as you navigate life in a new environment.
Competitive and affordable
Our programme is designed to minimise costs and provide helpful, human support throughout the application process, making it easier for you to pursue your career ambitions in the United States.
Summer Work Travel Opportunities
The chance to live and work in America for a season
You’ll gain first-hand experience of American culture, earn money while you’re there, and meet people from all over the world.
Find seasonal work in U.S tourist hotspots. Jobs include hotels, restaurants, pubs, beach clubs, yacht clubs, and souvenir shops.
The programme, explained
Applicants seeking opportunities for J-1 work and travel in the USA are only eligible for seasonal employment. And there are specific industries where J-1 applicants are not permitted to work.
Applicants are required to work a minimum of 32 hours per week. When looking for a US Summer job, make sure the below, applies:
The position offered is seasonal. Employment is of a seasonal nature when the position is tied to a certain time of the year by an event or pattern and requires labour levels above and beyond existing worker levels.
The position provides opportunities to work alongside and interact regularly with US citizens. Participants must be able to experience US culture during both the workday portion of their J-1 BridgeUSA programme as well as outside of work.
The position must not displace domestic US workers.
The position provides pay and benefits commensurate with those offered to their similarly situated US counterparts and pay eligible participants for overtime worked in accordance with applicable State or Federal law.
The location must contain suitable, affordable housing (e.g., that meets local codes and ordinances) and reliable, affordable, and convenient transportation to and from work. View a full list of prohibited locations.
Why CIEE?
50 years’ experience helping young people to access seasonal work in the United States.
A trusted leader in cultural exchange, and we’ve been in operation for more than 75 years - facilitating exchanges for 1.1 million people in that time.
We are the visa experts, removing the stress and complexity from the J-1 visa process
Expert support and guidance from the submission of your application in the UK, through to the end of your seasonal job in America.
Not a student and still looking for an opportunity to spend your summer in the U.S? Take a look at our Camp Exchange programme. For details around eligibility requirements and how to apply visit our Work and Travel page.
Types of job that cannot be approved by CIEE
Jobs that are filled by a different type of J-1 visa (camp counsellors, interns, etc.)
Jobs obtained through staffing or employment agencies
Jobs designated by the US Department of Labor as “hazardous to youth”
Jobs where students are hired independent contractors (using 1099 forms)
Jobs where students work the majority of their hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Sales jobs that require students to invest their own money to pre-purchase inventory
Jobs that are mostly commission-based and thus do not guarantee minimum wage
Jobs with exposure to dangerous chemicals (such as pesticides)
Jobs that require a professional license
Jobs that displace US workers
Jobs with employers who have experienced layoffs within the last 120 days
Jobs with employers who have workers on strike or lockout
Jobs that are filled by a different type of J-1 visa (camp counsellors, interns, etc.)
Domestic help positions in private US households, such as au pair, servant, gardener, or chauffeur
Modelling or jobs in the adult entertainment industry
Jobs on casino gaming floors
Jobs in warehouses, factories/manufacturing, moving companies, or catalogue / online distribution centres
Jobs in the fisheries industry
Jobs at mall kiosks or carts
Jobs as operators or drivers of vehicles or vessels for which drivers’ licenses are required
Operators of pedicabs, rolling chairs, other passenger carrying vehicles for hire, and/or vehicles requiring a commercial driver’s license
Farm or ranch jobs
Jobs with traveling carnivals / concessions
Jobs providing clinical care, medical services or involving patient contact, hands-on therapy, counselling, administering treatment or making diagnoses of medical, psychiatric or psychological patients, or veterinary work involving hands-on care
Jobs as ship or aircraft crew members or as pilots, except as crew members on ships that travel only within domestic US waters
Jobs as teachers, teaching assistants, or coaches
Jobs entailing sustained physical contact with customers, such as, body piercing, tattoo parlour work, or massage)
Jobs with domestic cleaning companies
Summer Work Travel Eligibility
Your gateway to the States is here
You think a USA work and travel programme is for you – so let’s check UK eligibility. To qualify for CIEE’s programme, you must meet the following criteria.
To qualify for the BridgeUSA J-1 Visa programme, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:
Be of any nationality studying in the UK
Be enrolled in a full-time academic programme at a recognised UK university. Final year students may apply but must demonstrate an intention to return to the UK after completing the programme.
Be aged 18-30 upon the date you enter the US.
Your passport must be in pristine condition. If your passport is torn or damaged in any way you will need to apply for a new one.
Your passport must be valid for the full duration of your programme and ideally be valid for a further six months from when you return from the US.
Be able to show proof of required support funds which is the equivalent USD$800, when clearing US Immigration.
You are legally allowed to work in the US from 1st June-30th Sep, with a 30-day travel period after your job end date.
Summer Work Travel Cost
Starting at £640*
We differ from our competitors because we’re a non-profit. Meaning we aren’t here to make money, we’re here to give more young people, accessible opportunities to work abroad. That’s why the cost of our USA work and travel programme is kept as competitive as possible – to make it affordable to more of you.
J-1 Visa Programme £640*
The J-1 BridgeUSA All-In Package, where we do all the hard work and sort out each of your US positions, for you. We’ll provide you with access to hundreds of ‘Premium’ J-1 job opportunities via our database, CIEE Direct. All the available positions will have been pre-vetted and we’ll set up the interview. Essentially – we’ll do the leg work and paperwork, to make sure no detail is missed. You just need to focus on putting your best foot forward at the interview.
What’s included?
J-1 Visa Application processing
DS-2019 – your Legal Work Authorisation papers
Access to our J-1 job listings where you get to choose what job and where to work
Access to hiring fairs
Five months emergency Medical Insurance **
SEVIS fee
Pre-departure J-1 Orientation
Dedicated support from our experienced J-1 Team throughout, and on-the-ground support from our team while you’re there.
*£99 deposit required
**The insurance covers your emergency Medical expenses while in the US. We recommend you also take out a separate ‘Travel Insurance’ policy to cover you for things like cancellation and curtailment, personal belongings, legal costs, flight delays and more.
What We Do?
We exist to make the long and complex process easier by offering helpful, human support throughout, and people on the ground to help you out when you’re there. Think freedom and independence with a bit of a safety net.
As one of the largest US Sponsors of visa programmes, we handle all your employer vetting and provide the necessary paperwork for your J-1 visa. Our friendly, helpful J-1 team assists thousands of full-time students each year, guiding you through the process with ease.