Hair and Second J Interviews
Posted by admin on May 15, 2009 · Leave a Comment
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.
Filed under Newsletter · Tagged with france, j applicants, japan, second interviews, turkey
May Holidays and H-1B Cap
Posted by admin on May 8, 2009 · Leave a Comment
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.
Party Punctual and J Participants with No Positions
Posted by admin on April 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment
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.
Filed under Newsletter · Tagged with j visa, japan, midwest, usa
Seeing Differences and Beyond; H-2B Cap Reached
Posted by admin on January 16, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Dear Friends,
The subway in Japan can be an exotic place, especially when you are a six year old who has spied an American: “Mommy, mommy foreigner! Foreigner!” Being seen as different was one of my least favorite things about living in Japan. Similarly, a Japanese friend told me about the sideways looks she got in Boston where she lived. Being seen as different makes you feel uncomfortable – at the very least. This coming Monday the United States celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, a person who dedicated his life fighting for the rights of those who looked different from the majority of other Americans. Therefore, it is especially fitting that, the following day, the United States celebrates as we inaugurate our first African-American President. Though people around the world will continue to stare at those who appear different, it is wonderful that the United States has proven that we can also see beyond those differences.
H-2B Cap Reached
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on January 8 that it has enough petitions to fill the H-2B cap for the second half of Fiscal Year 2009. You cannot get any more H-2B workers with start dates prior to October 1, 2009. We can still help out with J Trainees or J Interns for this period.
We have positions available in the New York area for the Spring and Summer of this year.
Filed under Newsletter · Tagged with citizenship, h-2b, immigration, j1, japan, united states, usa
World and Local Finance and Work and Travel Students
Posted by admin on October 10, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Japan’s stock market falls almost 10% in one day; the DAX in Frankfurt fell almost 11% at one point and in Brazil the Reis is down 5% against the dollar. Here in the United States, where our stock market is down 40% from one year ago, the government is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to support our strained financial sector. But the local people are having problems too. On the radio the other day, I listened as a middle school teacher complained that while the wealthy people on Wall Street are getting all the money they need, schools are still being cut back. The radio announcer gave the caller an innovative suggestion. “You should try turning your school into a bank.”
Work and Travel Students for the winter
If you visit any ski resort in the United States during the winter ski season there is a very good chance you will have students from Argentina or Chile or Australia helping you onto the lift. Work and Travel is a popular program for international students and for American employers. If you are looking for winter employees give us a call and we may be able to help.
This week we have several positions at one of America’s largest water parks.
Filed under Newsletter · Tagged with japan, stock market, travel, visa, work
Wall Street’s Sneeze and Additional Working Visas
Posted by admin on September 21, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Dear Friends,
This past week Wall Street has rocked and the world has rolled. As the American stock market fell and the US government stepped in to support it, the stock markets of Hong Kong, Seoul and London bounced as well. The world is so interconnected now that, as they say in Japan, ‘If America sneezes we all catch a cold.”
Additional Working Visas
The recent financial turmoil is not a good thing for internationals hoping to get additional visas to work in the United States. With financial instability Americans feel less confident about their own employment and the government, listening to the fears of the American people, is less likely to approve additional working visas.
This week we have additional positions in Florida at an exclusive country club.
Filed under Newsletter · Tagged with hong kong, japan, stock market, wall street, working visa