What are the eligibility requirements for a Host Company?

In order to host an Exchange Visitor, the Host Company must adhere to certain structural requirements in order to ensure that the intern or trainee is adequately supervised, in accordance with the mission of the Exchange Visitor Program. Additionally, the Host Company must maintain a minimum of an Active Level Membership in their local FACC Chapter.

You will find below a list of the most important eligibility requirements for new host companies:

• Intern/Trainee Program must be paid at least the local prevailing minimum wage;
• Intern/Trainee Program must be on a full-time basis (32 – 40 hours per week);
• Intern/Trainee Program is a bona-fide training program and does not constitute work;
• Hosting company has to have sufficient structure and a dedicated manager on-site to provide proper supervision for Intern/Trainee;
• Hosting company must agree to pay the FACC J-1 administrative fees;
• Hosting Company must have valid FACC membership to their local chapter;
• To host an Intern, the host company needs to have at least 3 full-time employees (NB: does not include EVs, interns, contractors…) at the site of activity for each Exchange Visitor in which at least 2 have to be American citizens or green card holders;
• To host a Trainee, the host company needs to have at least 5 full-time employees (NB: does not include EVs, interns, contractors…) at the site of activity for each Exchange Visitor in which at least 2 have to be American citizens or green card holders

For more information about your eligibility as a Host Company, please read the EVP FACC Guidelines, Host Company Eligibility Checklist and the VIE Hosting Guidelines.

The number of J-1 Visa candidates hosted must respect the following ratios:

• For small companies (up to 12 full time-employees), one J-1 visa candidate for every three full-time and on-site employee
• For larger companies, the number of J-1 visa candidates must not exceed 10% of total staff.