Starting a New or Second Job
The rules of your J1 visa prohibit the below jobs:
Non-seasonal (a job that exists all year long);
Working for a relative or family friend, or living with/near a relative or family friend;
One where you would work a shift of more than 4 hours between 10 pm and 6 am;
In adult entertainment or anything that is not a good reflection on the U.S. Government;
Piercing, tattooing, massage, manicure, clinical or patient care, contaminated laundry (anything where you might be in contact with blood & body fluids);
Any position requiring a license, including gambling;
Teacher, intern, trainee, camp counselor or physician;
Working as an employee in a private home (elder care, gardener, private housekeeper, chauffeur, personal assistant);
Sales positions where you have to buy products, then sell them to earn money;
Positions with travelling fairs or itinerant concessionaires;
Any position involving driving a motor vehicle or pedicab;
Meat, poultry or fish processing (not including restaurant work); chemical pest control, warehousing, catalogue/online order distribution centers, agriculture, forestry, timber or logging, fishing/hunting, mining/quarrying, oil/gas extraction, construction, manufacturing, wrecking/excavation/demolition, shipbreaking, roofing, forest fire fighting/ prevention,
Operating a motorized blade/saw, near radioactive substances and to ionizing radiations or close proximity to explosives;
You may not move to a big city to look for work.
You must be working for at least one employer who provides cultural activities.
If you are out of work for over 3 weeks, you will need to return home within 30 days of your final day of work.
If the new employer is currently hosting other ERDT Work and Travel students, the new employer only needs to email emily@erdtworkandtravel.org to inform us of the new employee’s name, position, average weekly hours and pay rate. We will reply to confirm when the new employee may start work.
Frequently Asked Questions
When am I allowed to leave my first job?
You may leave your first job only after you have worked there for 3 weeks.
If your employer is not meeting the terms of your job offer, or if you have a note from a doctor in the U.S., stating that you have a sudden medical condition that prevents you from doing the tasks required of you, email ERDT and we may give you permission to quit early.
Otherwise, if you leave your job before you have worked there for 3 weeks, your program will be terminated. If you do not leave the U.S. immediately, your name will go on a list with Immigration and Customs Enforcement of persons to be found, detained, and deported. If you ever try to visit the U.S. again, the embassy will question why your record was terminated.
Remember to check all documentation you signed to see if there is any penalty for leaving your job early (housing costs, end-of-season bonus).
Read Quitting Your Job or Being Fired and Problems At Your Job for more information.
What happens if I start training or working at a new job without permission from ERDT?
Your program will be terminated. If you do not leave the U.S. immediately, your name will go on a list with Immigration and Customs Enforcement of persons to be found, detained, and deported. If you ever apply for a U.S. visa again, the embassy will investigate why your record was terminated. Read Program Termination and Cancellation for more information.
Do I have to keep working while in the U.S.? If I quit my job, how long do I have to find a new job?
You are expected to work from your visa start date to your visa end date. If you quit your job or are fired from your job, you have 3 weeks in which to find a new job. If you decide not to find a new job, or if you are not able to find a new job within 3 weeks, the U.S. Government requires ERDT to cancel your program. Cancellation is not the same as termination. Read Program Termination and Cancellation for more information.