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Hair and Second J Interviews

Posted by admin on May 15, 2009 ·  

Dear Friends,

Culture affects everything – even our hair. While women everywhere tend to take better care of their hair, men’s hair varies. Our young French intern has hair that moves north, south, east and west – all at once. Ismail from Turkey has a nice wave on the left of his forehead that must have required some work. Yui from Japan must also have worked on his head – I can’t see how anyone could get hair so perfectly messy by accident. The local California guys keep it simple: short or wild – unless they are getting dressed up and then they get it to stick-up in defiance of gravity. It makes me appreciate my basic hairstyle: bald.

Second Interviews for J Applicants
There are times when J visa applicants are turned down when they apply for their visa at the US Consulate or Embassy in their home country. We and the visa sponsor have screened all of our applicants before they received their DS-2019, the document needed to apply for the J visa, and we believe all of our applicants who go to their visa interview are qualified to receive the visa. That is why, when our applicants are turned down, we almost always encourage them to do a second interview before giving up. Our applicants have a high passing rate on second interviews.

We have a deadline coming up for people interested in our summer and one-year positions at the wonderful Mid-West water parks.

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May Holidays and H-1B Cap

Posted by admin on May 8, 2009 ·  

Dear Friends,

Here in the United States we don’t generally think of early May for holidays but on the other side of the Pacific, Japan is just now finishing “Golden Week” with its three major holidays and its millions of travelers. On the other side of the Atlantic in France, May 8 is “Victory Day,” celebrating the end of World War II. And in France, Japan, the US and hundreds of other places around the world we all sit down this coming Sunday to honor one of the most important individuals – if not the most important individual – in our country: our mom. Happy Mother’s day to all of the Moms around the world.

H-1B Cap Count
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continue to accept applications for the H-1B, which allows international professionals in a specialty occupation, to work in the US. As of May 4, USCIS has received 45,000 applications toward the cap of 65,000. For more information see:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f

This week, for just a while longer, we will be accepting new applications for our wonderful Midwest water-parks.

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Arm and Leg, and H-1B Cap Numbers

Posted by admin on April 24, 2009 ·  

Dear Friends,

From around the world, people come to the United States to learn American English. And yet, even those born and raised here sometimes need to learn new language – especially our fun colloquial terms. Sitting at Easter dinner the other day my wife was telling a story about an extremely expensive dinner she had, explaining that it had cost “An arm and a leg.” My five years old niece, who had never heard this expression before, asked her very seriously, “Why did you have to pay with pieces of your body?”.
H-1B Numbers
The United States Immigration and Citizenship Service, as of April 20, had received approximately 44,000 H-1B petitions that count toward the cap of 65,000 and continues to accept more applications daily. In addition USCIS has received approximately 20,000 petitions for the 20,000 slots reserved for applicants with advanced degrees but they are still accepting those applications as well because not all petitions received are accepted.
Today we have a huge number of positions available for J Interns in Ohio at another wonderful water park.

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Doggie Bags International and New I-9 Form

Posted by admin on April 17, 2009 ·  

Dear Friends,
Is it proper to take home unfinished food from a restaurant? In the United States most people think it would be wasteful to NOT take perfectly good food home. (”Doggie Bags” – the bags restaurants use to send home un-eaten food are for just that purpose – even though the contents are usually consumed by humans and not dogs). At dinner the other night, I learned from my Brazilian friends that in their country it is looked down upon to bring left-overs home. And our waiter, from Moldova, said that in her country they do not bring home food from restaurants either. I know from my personal experience in Japan that is it similar there. I heard a story of a Japanese restaurant not allowing food to leave because they were afraid of being sued if the food became unhealthy on the way home and someone got sick. Here we would more likely get sick thinking about all of that wasted food.
New I-9 Form
Starting this month US employers need to use the new I-9 Employment Verification form for new employees that has April 3, 2009 printed on the lower right-hand corner. You can find this form at www.uscis.gov or call 1-800-870-3676.
This week we have lots of positions in recreation and hospitality available.

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US Universities and H-1B Applications

Posted by admin on April 10, 2009 ·  

Dear Friends,

People from around the world come to study at the great institutions of higher learning in the United States and this week, my son – soon to be a college student – and I visited Harvard, Columbia, Tufts, New York University and many many more. International experience, such as work opportunities in China, campuses in France and study abroad for over 50% of all students, was emphasized by all of the schools. You know the world is interrelated when, at Columbia University on Broadway in New York City, an admissions officer, born in Mexico, shares the responsibility for selecting students from applicants representing all 50 of the United States and over 70 countries. Is the world getting smaller? Or are the opportunities getting bigger?

H-1B Applications

As of April 9, the USCIS had received approximately 42,000 H-1B petitions for the 65,000 slots available. They are still accepting applications.

This week we have Work and Travel opportunities for students.

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Party Punctual and J Participants with No Positions

Posted by admin on April 3, 2009 ·  

Dear Friends,

Celebrations are a fun and important part of every culture. But the time of arrival at parties can vary significantly from one place to another. In Japan parties start on time – exactly on time. (And, they even END on time!) Here in the US it is customary to arrive “fashionably late” for a party, knowing that there will only be a few people there at the official time the party is to start. In Brazil most guests arrive at weddings about 30 minutes late. (If a Brazilian Bride were to arrive at her wedding on time, she would be the only one there.) I am told that in Spain no one shows up on time to parties because, if you are the first one there, you may have to help prepare the food.

J Participants Who Have Lost Positions

With the current difficult economic situation in the United States many J Trainees, Interns and Work and Travel participants here have lost their work-placements. Without a placement they are out-of-status for the J visa and, legally, must return home unless a new position is found. Most J visa sponsors will offer participants some time to find a new position – often 30 days – and offer them assistance with finding a new position. But finding positions is not always possible and, in the worst case, some participants can be forced to return home.

This week we have many wonderful positions available monitoring water-slides and indoor surfing in the Great Mid-west.

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Cultural Sensitivity in Vegas and Trainees without Training Positions

Posted by admin on March 30, 2009 ·  

Dear Friends,
It is well understood here in the US that it is important to be culturally sensitive when traveling and doing business abroad. The MGM Grand Hotel, which I visited this past weekend in Las Vegas, learned that a lack of cultural sensitivity can have consequences even here at home. California, the home of the largest number of Las Vegas visitors, is also the home to the largest number of Chinese outside of China. And the Chinese, with their belief in good fortune and luck, are enthusiastic gamblers. They should be wonderful patrons of the MGM, the largest hotel and casino in the world. But the Chinese also have beliefs on what brings bad luck. Which brings us to the grand entrance of the MGM Grand Hotel which, when opened, was a giant lion through which guests and gamblers would enter. Getting eaten by a lion is not a very auspicious way to begin one’s gambling adventure. Chinese avoided the MGM. Today, Chinese do go to the MGM – after the hotel spent a small fortune redesigning their entrance with the lion standing majestically to the side of the front doors.
Trainees without Training Positions
As the US economy continues to falter International Trainees and Interns on J Exchange Visitor visas are one of the groups that is suffering. Making their situation even more difficult is the fact that, almost without exception, they have paid for the opportunity to come and learn through their American work-experience. We will talk about what happens to Trainees and Interns who are laid off next week.
This week we still have positions available in the great Mid-west.

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International Neighbors and Investor Visas

Posted by admin on March 14, 2009 ·  

Dear Friends,
The United States, with its short history and friendly neighbors, is a bit different than other countries around the world. Over the centuries neighboring countries quite often develop intense rivalries and, even today, tossing insults across borders is not uncommon. The British might say the French are arrogant and the French may say the British have no taste. Argentinians and Brazilians both can be heard saying that the other cannot really play football (how insulting!). In contrast, Americans would never want to insult our wonderful neighbors to the north. Why would we? In spite of the fact that they really really like hockey, most of us think Canadians are actually Americans anyway.*
Investor Visa
For those people with a good amount of money the “Immigrant Investor” visa, a pilot program that was just extended on March 12, is a special option. If you invest enough in starting a business in the US you can get a visa to live here. For more information speak to your immigration professional or give us a call for a referral.
We have many positions available at a wonderful mid-western water park.

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What Bad Economy? and J-1 Training as Compared to J-1 Internship

Posted by admin on March 6, 2009 ·  

Dear friends,
“Why are American’s complaining about their economy when over 90% of the people have jobs?” I was asked recently by a Brazilian friend, who pointed out the fact that “bad” is a very relative term; “We always have about 15% unemployment in Brazil.” I asked a friend in Jamaica and she said they usually have about 20% unemployment. But, the US is in really great shape when compared to the Philippines. It is estimated that 10% of the entire Philippine population lives abroad because of the lack of work at home.
J-1 Training as Compared to J-1 Internship

J-1 Training and J-1 Internship are very similar in that both offer on-the-job training and include a training plan with phases to expose participants to a variety of experiences. Internship, though, is considered a lower-level program for students while Training is aimed more at experienced professionals.

This week we have several new open positions in Lake Tahoe at a beautiful resort hotel with a wonderful history.

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Western Humility and The Economy and Visa Approval

Posted by admin on February 27, 2009 ·  

Dear Friends,
A Chinese American friend and one from India both had a similar response recently when they talked about a son giving their father the gift of a car: it was such a generous gift that it was better not to tell family because they might be jealous. Westerners, when asked about whether they would tell their family about such a gift, had different thoughts. In the US, I would call my brother up and invite him for a ride. In Brazil, Simone would call her sister and let her know immediately. In Spain, Cesar would not call his brother. Instead he would drive over to his brother’s house in the new car and honk. When his brother came out he would point out the new car, the gift from his son. Then he would ask, “What has your son bought you lately?”
The Economy’s Effect on Visa Approval While it is very difficult to know with certainty whether approval rates for Interns or Trainees on the J1 Exchange Visitor visas are going down as the US economy slows, it seems not. The number of people obtaining these visas is going down though. There are not as many positions available so there are fewer people applying.
This week we are beginning our recruitment for summer positions at one of the beautiful resorts in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

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