An amusing aside - from the Exchange Visitor Host Site Handbook which is sent to supervisors of J1 program participants:<p>Signs of Cultural Adjustment Issues<p>“This country is really stupid…” - A common statement from trainees who are seeing a
cultural trait of the United States through the experience of their own culture, not that of the U.S. A response might be, “Why do you suppose we’ve done that for the last 200 years?”<p>“English doesn’t have enough words…” - A common statement from trainees who cannot
find a way to express emotions that are described in their native language, but not shared
by the Anglo cultures.<p>“All I want to do is sleep…” – A common statement of depression brought on by the
overload of change.<p>“I’m gaining a lot of weight…” – The change in food often results in weight gain. It is often difficult for trainees to understand how to use local and different foods for a healthy diet.<p>“Americans ask ‘How are you doing, but don’t really want to know…”– An accurate and
common observation that may indicate the trainee is understanding what is said literally,
but not hearing the underlying or cultural meaning.<p>“Why should I celebrate your holiday; I’m not American…” – A common attitude that
could indicate the trainee is suffering a bit of cultural identity crisis.
Having recently returned back to school after an 8mo internship in SF on a J1, your write-up sounds pretty much spot on! I'll make sure this gets added to our school's collection of documentation that gets sent out to co-ops going to SF/NY/etc. each term.<p>A couple of things worth mentioning, though:<p>- Rent at $1k/mo for rent is (now) hard to find unless you're living in a living room or a slum. Prices for my friends ranged from $1300(decent place w/ 2+ roomates) - $2000+(nice studio)<p>- We all had pretty decent experience staying in a student hotel/hostel upon immediately arriving in SF rather than relying on an airbnb or related. Places like the Herbert Hotel (<a href="http://theherberthotel.com/" rel="nofollow">http://theherberthotel.com/</a>) are ~$1100/mo (can't confirm weekly/nightly rate) and are a great place to settle at first, but you shouldn't bank on staying there for long. Bonus: you've got a "hotel" booked once you arrive in SF (customs loves to hear this).<p>- As soon as you get to SF, join the ~"bay area interns group" on Facebook, invite the entire (2K+) group out for dinner wit hone post, and instantly meet 15+ new friends at once. It's definitely the best collection of smart, talented, cool kids I've ever come across and everyone is working on something cool (usually outside of work, too).<p>- Here's another great write up (targeted at UWaterloo co-ops, but still applicable): <a href="http://stephenholiday.com/Unofficial-Waterloo-USA-Intern-Guide/" rel="nofollow">http://stephenholiday.com/Unofficial-Waterloo-USA-Intern-Gui...</a><p>Most importantly: someone PLEASE build a better product for visa sponsor companies (Intrax for me, CIEE/local rep for you) to streamline the J1 (and other visas, I'm sure) application process. I have never had a more frustrating experience going back and forth via email with so many different people at my sponsor company, having to upload identification and documents, print/fill out/scan/send forms, and bug them for the status of my visa application. The application fee was something my host company paid for without hesitation and would have paid more for to streamline. I've looked into this problem and would have built it myself if it weren't for the bureaucratic requirements req'd by the US gov't (which are fair, just hard to MVP) - ping me if you are interested in solving this problem :)
I didn't see this point in the article, but I might have missed it:<p>On a J-1 visa you may have to return to your home country for 2 years after it expires -- you can only visit on tourist/student visas in those two years, not work in the US. I was subject to this, as a UK citizen interning in Redmond between undergraduate years (in 2002), but I have not met many other J-1 holders and don't know how common it was.<p><a href="http://internationalaffairs.uchicago.edu/page/j-1-status-two-year-home-residency-requirement-two-year-repeat-bar" rel="nofollow">http://internationalaffairs.uchicago.edu/page/j-1-status-two...</a>
I had a similar story.
And de facto I've heard such advice, but from a group of people - it's nice to see it grouped. I would add one point: you DON'T need a _local_ representative of CIEE. I did it with a US-based one, <a href="http://culturalvistas.org/" rel="nofollow">http://culturalvistas.org/</a> (I guess there are more).
What I find interesting though, is that OP went from interning at a YC company, to founding one. Would love to learn more about that process, and the visa situation throughout, since I don't think you can be founding companies and getting investment on a J1 visa.<p>I interned with a big company this summer that had an established J1 process (Microsoft), so didn't have to deal with a lot of these hassles - they organised the J1 visa and sent me SEVIS papers that I simply took to the embassy in London, and got my visa approved after a 2 minute interview. They organise housing and give you a rental car or bike based on your preference. The biggest worry for me was that they may incorrectly apply the 'home country physical presence' requirement, since India lists every single possible skill as wanted. Still, it's interesting to learn that the process is still doable for small startups without the same resources, in case I need it in the future.
At my university (Waterloo), this is a pretty good everything-you-need-to-know, but of course it's mainly for UWaterloo students (Canada) <a href="http://stephenholiday.com/Unofficial-Waterloo-USA-Intern-Guide/#" rel="nofollow">http://stephenholiday.com/Unofficial-Waterloo-USA-Intern-Gui...</a>
lol:) I have almost the same story:) You've done it well.. Good article, but there is also option to go for J1 Trainee program and its duration is up-to 18 months.
$4k/month for living expenses...is it that bad in SF? That's pretty good $ for much of the country, even some of the more expensive cities in the US.
Do <i>not</i> wait 'a few weeks' before trying to get a social security number. You <i>do</i> have to be in the country for 10 days before you can apply, but apply immediately after that.<p>You can't be paid without a social security number.
>get at least $4k/mo to manage without savings<p>I'd love a $24/hr development position. Interns these days are getting paid too well. I interned for half as much and I'm not making much more.
This is incredibly awesome! I will be reading and re-reading this article hopefully many times in 2014 as I embark upon the startup internship journey this year. Thanks so much!