We've been on a rollercoaster over the past few months. Us, being the crew at IEP as well as every eligible Australian university or TAFE student who has wanted to work in America for a year and have been waiting on tenterhooks to find out if the Exchange Visitor pilot program visa was going to continue.
We were told yes, we were told no, we were given the possible end date of the visa, we were told it might continue for a few extra months and with so much uncertainty, we had been pushing to get eligible applicants over the line by 31 October, and by that I mean over the border line of the US of A.
Then, out of the blue came that gorgeous email from the US State Department declaring that the pilot program would be continuing for at least another year at this time. Like music to our ears.
And so the frantic rush began, we wanted to get the message out there to everyone and anyone who ever glossed over our website and then thought they wouldn't get on the program in time or that they needed to finish their final semester before they went over.
Let's face it, this was a pilot program and it takes a bit of time for word to spread that this sort of incredible opportunity is out there. People want to hear from others who have done it and two years just isn't enough time to gather enough momentum.
So we're grabbing this extra year with both hands and holding on tight.
I'm sure there are those of you out there who have never even heard of this visa and won't know what all the excitment is about so here is the low down.
The Work USA program allows Australian or New Zealand passport holders who are full time tertiary students and who have completed at least a year of their course already or recent graduates who plan on entering the US within 12 months of finishing their course, to work anywhere in the USA in practically any field for up to a year.
This kind of flexibilty and freedom is pretty rare when it comes to US visas which is why the extension of the program is such exciting news.
IEP is currently a registered sponsor of this visa and on our Work USA program eligible Aussies can spend a year working and travelling in America with very few restrictions. They don't need to work in their field of study and they don't need to have a job lined up before they go over.
Of course there is more to the program and if you are interested you can learn more about it at our website Work USA
Any questions can come through to me at naomi.joyce@iep.org.au of course, I might still be out celebrating the good news!
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