J-1 Visa application procedure

The process of obtaining a visa is the most important and the longest stage of the internship preparation. In order to run smoothly, one must be duly prepared.
The process includes:

  •    The Sponsor -
  •    Hosting Organization and
  •    Intern.


The simplified procedure is as follows:

  1.  The hosting organization contacts the Sponsor and prepares the intern/trainee plan together with the intern on the Sponsor's form (DS-7002).
  2.  The intern submits an application for obtaining the Certificate of Eligibility for J-1 Visa (a J-1 visa promise) together with the intern/trainee plan to the Sponsor,
  3.  The Sponsor approves the application and issues the visa promise (DS-2019).
  4.  The intern submits an application at the consulate,
  5.  The intern attends an interview and obtains the visa.
  6.  The whole procedure lasts from 2 to 3 months.


The visa application procedure can be executed in two ways:

  1.  the company contacts the Sponsor organization directly and they execute the procedure together; if it could not be possible
  2.  the EEF offers support. The EEF works together with a Polish organization (Almatur) which assists during the process of obtaining the visa. The organization cooperates on on-going basis with one of the American organizations authorized to issue DS-2019 Form (the Sponsor),  takes over contacts with the Sponsor organization, controls the correctness of the documents necessary to obtain the visa by the interns, regarding the content and the form, cooperates with the company concerning the part about the intern/trainee program preparation and contacts the consulate services.


Below we include  detailed information about the visa procedure and preparing the internship, based on the description of binding procedures in one of the Sponsor organizations, i.e. CIEE.


Interns  with a green card or U.S. passport do not need to  apply for a visa. The procedure prior to internship is simpler.

More information:

Role of the Sponsor
Role of the Host Organization
Host organization Eligibility
Hosting an Intern