Irish Intern Work and Travel Program

The governments of the United States and Ireland have launched a Twelve-Month Intern Work and Travel Pilot Program for post-secondary students or young people within twelve months of graduation. The new program is an innovative exchange program that will allow thousands of young people from Ireland to enter the United States for a period of twelve months on a J-1 Exchange Visitor visa.

Here are the requirements to participate in the program:

All participants must be interviewed in-person and must meet the following program eligibility requirements:

• You must be a citizen of Ireland.

• You must be a bona fide post-secondary college/university student or recent graduate. A recent graduate is defined as an Irish citizen who has graduated from a post-secondary college/university in their home country no more than 12 months beyond graduation. The applicant must provide evidence from his/her post-secondary institution of student status or graduation.

• Vocational students pursuing studies at a tertiary level accredited academic institution are not eligible for participation unless such vocational study is part of a structured program leading to a degree or other credential recognized as equivalent to Level VI of the Irish Higher Education System.

• You must provide proof of sufficient financial resources, prior to the issuance of a visa, and that you can support yourself throughout your program and for your return home. Pan Atlantic recommends that you be able to show that you have access to a minimum of 1,500 Euros.

• You may not be accompanied by spouse or dependents.

You may seek placement services through Pan Atlantic (for hospitality field only) or find your own position, either before you go to the US, or after you arrive in the US.

Fees (introductory rate, effective through 2009):

Program Application Fee-

12 months: $725
8 months: $665

Insurance Fees (required)-

12 months: $275
8 months: $185

There are two other fees that you pay directly to the US government- the Embassy Application Fee ($131) and the I-901 SEVIS Fee ($180). Neither of these fees are paid to Pan Atlantic, but it's good to know about them at the start so you can figure that into your financial planning.

To start the process, please visit our sign up page, and upload your resume. If you already have a position in the US please upload an offer letter from your host company (your host company can use our sample offer letter template). If you do not have a position already, plese upload, in lieu of an offer letter, a letter of intent, telling us about your interests, preferred start date, and any other pertinent information. Someone will contact you within 5 business days of your signing up in the system.

When we have received your resume to make sure that you qualify we will give you the information you'll need to log into our system and complete the online application. There are ten short steps in the online application. After you have submitted your application and paid all relevant fees we will generate the documents that you will need to take to the US embassy in your home country when you apply for the J-1 Visa. If applicable, we will also work with the host property to put together a training plan that reflects the type of training you will receive.

Once Pan Atlantic has generated the required documents we will contact you to let you know that your paperwork is ready to go, and to give you instructions on scheduling an appointment. Once we know the date of your interview we will contact you by phone to go over the documents that will be sent, and to talk with you about what to expect at the embassy appointment.

Applicants will have one Pan Atlantic Associate in charge of overseeing their application, so they always have someone to contact who knows the intricacies of their case. The whole process takes an average of 4-6 weeks, and we are available to answer questions every step of the way.

Interns must secure a position within 90 days of US arrival. In the event that no position is secured the intern must return home.

Don't qualify for the Irish IWT program? No problem! Check out our other J-1 opportunities!