Internships
USA

Your J-1 visa and applying for a visa
In order to do an internship in the USA, you must apply for a J-1 visa in person at the US consulates in Frankfurt, Munich or Berlin. An internship without a US visa (Visa Waiver Program) or with a tourist visa is not permitted.

After you have received the confirmation and the exact dates for your internship from us, you should contact Cultural Vistas, our partner organization in Washington DC, directly. Cultural Vistas is a so-called “visa sponsoring organization” and is authorized by the US State Department to issue the visa papers (DS-2019) for you.

Important: The US consulates can only issue your visa after Cultural Vistas has issued the DS-2019 for you. Visa applications through other organizations cannot be processed by the Goethe-Institut.

Cultural Vistas will help you with all the necessary information about the visa application process. The DS-2019 is issued in a timely manner via Cultural Vistas (8-10 weeks) - the processing of your visa by your US consulate, on the other hand, is dependent on appointment availability. To be on the safe side, you should allow about a minimum of four months from the start of your visa application to entry into the USA.

Cultural Vistas is not only responsible for issuing the visa papers, but will also take out affordable accident and health insurance for you. This insurance is required for all applicants.

Please contact Cultural Vistas directly for information on the application forms for your DS-2019 and the fees for insurance and for the issue of your DS-2019.

Learn more about the required documents for a visa application. 

Cultural Vistas
440 Park Avenue South, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel. +1 212 497 3500
Fax +1 212 4973535
info@culturalvistas.org
Cultural Vistas

Although the internship is not paid; the Goethe-Institut provides a monthly stipend of €450. You will have to cover your own living expenses and associated accommodation/travel costs. Unfortunately, the Goethe-Institut Boston cannot support you with this.

Please clarify your health insurance coverage with your health insurance provider in Germany before you start your internship. Please also check your accident insurance for the duration of your stay abroad. Health insurance must be taken out through Cultural Vistas.

• Goethe-Institut interns have the opportunity to apply to the DAAD for a short-term scholarship. Funding is available for internships of a maximum of 3 months. Please note that you must have applied for the scholarship up to 2 months before the start of your internship. You can find all important information on the DAAD Website 
• In addition to the short-term scholarship for internships abroad, the DAAD offers further funding options for your internship abroad.
• The German-American Internship Program (DAP) promotes self-organized, voluntary internships between 2-12 months in the USA and is aimed at students (from the 2nd semester onwards) and recent graduates from subjects relevant to child and youth welfare (e.g. social work, social economics, education, etc.) and related disciplines (e.g. political science, history, social sciences, NGO management, etc.). Social work, social economics, education, educational science, etc.) and related disciplines (e.g. political science, history, social sciences, NGO management, etc.) and is also open to students (from the second semester onwards) and recent graduates who have a proven track record of voluntary work in this field.
• We also recommend that you inquire at your university about other funding opportunities.
• Recommendation for English language certificates: An expensive TOEFL test is not absolutely necessary.
  It is usually sufficient if you visit an English lecturer at your university and ask him/her for a certificate. You will need this certificate at least twice - for the visa and for the DAAD (proof of English proficiency is not necessary for native English speakers).