UNITED STATES RELAXES VISA RULES FOR UK STUDENTS
More university students can look forward to a summer working and travelling in the US with BUNAC, the specialists in work abroad programmes, following last week’s announcement by the US State Department that it is to reinstate the J-1 Summer Work and Travel Visa for those in their final year of study. Over the last five years, BUNAC has played a key role in lobbying for a relaxation of the rules, to enable more students to travel and promote greater cultural awareness between the UK and the US.
Final year (graduating) students had been excluded from taking part in Work America, BUNAC’s summer work and travel programme to the US, following tighter visa controls post-9/11, leading to a decrease in programme numbers. Comments Callum Kennedy, UK Director of BUNAC, “Five years ago, over 2500 students annually took part in the programme. However factors such as more stringent eligibility criteria and new visa interview requirements meant that numbers had plummeted to 800 by the summer of 2006. We’re delighted that new graduates can once again enjoy a working summer in the States: that long-established rite of passage between leaving university and starting permanent work in the UK.”
Work America was created by BUNAC in 1965 and is the longest running summer work and travel programme for UK students. During this time, tens of thousands of British students have undertaken casual summer employment in the USA as diverse as working in a restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard, on a ranch in Colorado, at a theme park in New Jersey or in a book shop in Boston. ‘Work America’ enables students to experience real life in the USA, build their CV, develop independence and a love for the energy and diversity of this vast country that often lasts a lifetime.
Work America provides students with the opportunity to do virtually any job, anywhere in the USA, for up to four months. Applications for BUNAC’s 2007 Work America programme open on 1st December 2006. The Work America programme fee is £259, however there is a £25 discount on all applications received before the end of January 2007. The programme fee covers the cost of UK presentations, programme administration and literature including the Work America Job Directory, the BUNAC J-1 visa service, full support in the UK, and the USA via offices in New York and Connecticut. For further information and to apply, visit www.bunac.org.
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Press: for further information, contact Sarah Leavesley or Haydn Parks @ BUNAC. Tel: (020) 7251 0662 (please quote 020 7251 3472 in articles). E-mail: sarah.leavesley@bunac.org.uk or haydn.parks@bunac.org.uk
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