How to spend the summer in the US under the program Work and travel

More than 100 thousands of students come to America every summer. Here they have the legal opportunity to work for four months and travel not only through the territory of the States, but even visit neighboring Canada without an additional visa. The Work and travel program has been around for several decades and is supervised by the US State Department.

ForumDaily talked to students who are currently working on the program, and also found those whose lives have changed dramatically, thanks to Work and travelI learned how long to arrange travel documents, what work is better to choose and whether it is realistic to bring more from the US than spent on participating in the program.

At eight in the morning, Vlad Kaminsky takes his bike from the parking lot and diligently pedals 20 kilometers to the pool in one of the residential complexes in Washington, where he has been working as a lifeguard since the end of May. Vlad is a Kiev resident, studying at an aviation university, and spending the summer in the States has always been his dream.

“My parents saved money for my studies, but I entered on a “budget” and they said: this saved amount is now yours. I saved up a little more and decided to go to the USA for the summer,” says Vlad.

If you know how to swim and provide first aid, join the lifeguards

It took him forty minutes to get to work, and the guy immediately realized that it was better to buy a bicycle and not have to suffer in public transport. He paid $100 for his two-wheeled friend - and now he is not afraid of traffic jams or bus delays. Yes, and it turns out significantly cheaper. Vlad opens the pool at 10 am. His main responsibilities are to monitor the behavior of visitors on the water and to be always ready to help in case of danger. Even in Kyiv, the guy underwent special training and knows how to provide first aid.

“At first we took the swimming test: we had to swim 300 meters without stopping, stay on the water without hands for some time, and retrieve 4 kg weights from the bottom. Then we were taught rescue techniques: how to pull us out of the water, how to perform artificial respiration and chest compressions. And we had to learn all the terminology in English,” explains Vlad.

The order of the area around the pool, as well as the state of the water, is also on it. It is necessary to monitor the level of chlorine, calcium and acid content, and also ensure that the bottom of the pool is clean.

While Vlad lists all that he does, his partner, Alla Mikhina, is doing just that. The girl pulls out a plastic tube, puts on her a big nozzle and literally vacuums the bottom. Since the pool is big, the guys work two by one.

Vlad and Alla work in the pool from 10 in the morning until 8 in the evening. Photo: Lesya Bakalets

“We just met here, although we study at the same university, and our dormitory buildings are across the street,” says the girl. She is 21, and, like Vlad, she entered her fourth year. She says that her parents encouraged her to go on the trip. “This is an introductory trip for me, because in the future I plan to study abroad. I will finish my 4th year and will try to enroll in a master's program in Canada. There, after graduation, they immediately offer an internship,” explains Alla.

More than three thousand dollars - the average cost of a trip

Collect documents for Work and travel the guys started back in September. They say that they simply went to a company that was recommended by experienced undergraduate students. After registering, they were immediately given a list of professions and cities where vacancies were open for the next summer. “Therefore, even in Kyiv I knew who and where I would work. I specifically chose Washington - it’s the capital, after all,” says Vlad.

Alla made the decision together with her parents, and they jointly came to the conclusion that a rescuer was the most optimal position. Always in the fresh air, constant communication, and the work, in principle, is not difficult.

“I was told that maids, for example, are paid more, but the work is just hellish. And my classmate went to Alaska, to some fish restaurant as an assistant, but I don’t know how he got a job there,” says the girl.

The company translated their documents, found an employer, helped them apply for a visa and buy round-trip tickets. Vlad says that with the money he took with him, it turned out to be $3200. The guy is sure that here he can earn, if not more, then exactly the same amount.

“It’s written in my contract that I work no less than 40 hours a week, at $8 an hour. If an employer gives me fewer shifts, I can complain and defend my rights, they explained this to us back in Kyiv,” says Vlad.

Alla also calculated that it was quite possible to recoup the trip, but her parents said that she could spend all her earnings on herself. “All three thousand will be back, for sure. But I spend the same on food, and on clothes, from the equipment I want to buy something for myself. ”

First steps: make a social security number and register in the SEVIS system

Both Alla and Vlad flew straight to Washington, where they were met by a company representative. The guys were immediately taken to the office, they signed the necessary documents and bought a work uniform - T-shirts, shorts, a swimsuit, whistles. Housing for students is provided by the employer, who also opens bank accounts for them and organizes the submission of documents for a social security number, without which it is impossible to work in the United States. Upon arrival, you must also register in the system. Seviswhich allows the migration service to coordinate and track participants in exchange programs. Students are warned back at home: if your data is not in this system, you will face deportation.

According to the terms of the program, a student can work for no more than four months. Plus one month, the so-called grace period, is allocated exclusively for travel. Vlad and Alla will be in the States less - from the end of May to the beginning of September, then they need to study. Therefore, over the past two weeks they want to travel around America a little. Vlad has Napoleonic plans - to have time to see New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Alla has more modest requests - to swim in the ocean and walk around the city of the Big Apple.

Work and earn: your income is in your hands

Ukrainian Lyudmila Grishchenko with a smile, recalls how she also made a huge list of attractions that she wanted to visit during the program Work and travel. For the first time, she, then a second-year student at the Kiev Linguistic University, went to work as a lifeguard.

“I came to apply, they told me that there was one vacancy left in Washington - so I took it. By the way, I was sent to work in the same pool near which my husband and I now live,” says the girl.

Luda used to work and do it well. Her hard work immediately noted the boss. “For example, she asked to collect leaves in the pool with a special net, similar to a net. But she was torn. I did not lose my head, tied the holes with hair ties and did the work. It seems to be a trifle, but my boss was just in awe of my resourcefulness". Then Luda realized that if you work as hard as you can, you won’t be left without a piece of bread in America. During the first summer, she beat off the trip and received an invitation to come a year later. “I didn’t have the task of getting the money back; my parents didn’t demand that. But I myself had a goal - to earn money for my parents to travel to Paris. I brought money, but they still haven’t gone to Paris.”

Then she met her future husband, Anatoly, who moved to the United States as a teenager. Year they corresponded and were friends. And when Luda arrived in the same city the next summer, they met again.

“I didn’t come here to get married, I actually had other plans: to finish my studies, make a career, I wanted to provide for myself,” says Luda, smiling.

But it turned out quite differently: the couple began to meet, and when the question arose of what to do next, because the visa ended, Anatoly offered Lyuda to marry him. “He called my parents, asked for permission, and in August we got married. I had to return to Ukraine in September, and came a year later to make a wedding at home ”.

Luda and Anatoly. Photo: from the personal archive

Luda has been in the States for more than five years: she managed to obtain citizenship, go to college and find a good job. She says that, of course, it is impossible to consider the Work and Travel program as a chance for immigration. Her life just happened that way. But he advises not to miss the opportunity to spend the summer in the USA. English will definitely improve, and besides this, an understanding will come of what it’s like to live in another country: “Four more people from my university group now live in the USA - someone went to study, someone opened their own business here. All with Work and travel experience.”

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