Rural Exchange USA

From $1,950.00

Please note: The USA government is not allowing any J-1 visa holders to enter the USA until January 2021.
All prices are in $USD

Trip Code :WT-CODE 2282

We work with a number of hosts across the United States with various farming types. We also have horticultural opportunities available. Share your knowledge while learning new skills and understanding a different way of farming.

More Information

About 40 percent of the land in the United States is used for agriculture of some form, including livestock grazing. This includes 431.1 million acres of cropland, 396.9 million acres of pasture and 71.5 million acres of forests.

In 1998, the total crop output of the United States was 489,976,030 metric tons with a value of $102.14 billion USD. The largest single crop was corn, which accounted for more than half of the nation’s crop output with 247,882,000 metric tons. The second-largest crop was soybeans with 74,598,000 metric tons. Wheat is third with 69,327,000 metric tons. Other major crops include sugar cane, sugar beets, potatoes, bananas, and coffee.

Tobacco also provides substantial cash returns, although yields are small when compared with many other crops. Total animal output in 1998 was $94.19 billion while forestry products, including timber, totaled $24.68 billion. Of the total American livestock, there were 101.2 million heads of cattle, 56.2 million pigs, 8.3 million sheep, 6.15 million horses, and 1.5 billion chicken. The remaining livestock includes a variety of species such as bison, turkeys, and geese.

USA Visa Information

Intern: Who is either currently enrolled in pursuing studies at a degree or certificate-granting post-secondary academic institution outside the United States or who has graduated from such an institution no more than 12 months prior to his/her exchange visitor program begin date and who enters the United States to participate in a structured and guided work-based internship in his/her specific academic field.

Trainee : Who has either a degree or professional certificate from a foreign post-secondary academic institution and at least one year of prior related work experience in his/her occupational field acquired outside the US or 2. 5 years of work experience outside the US in his/her occupational field and who entered the US to participate in a structured and guided work-based training program in his/her specific occupational field.

Cost		Timing	Cost
Initial intake evaluation Discussion about goals, program choices CV assistance, documentation review Oral interview & oral English test	$0		when considering program	$0
Database listing fee (non-refundable)	$200		when choosing an applicant	$200
Program fee (only partially refundable) $600 application fee (non-refundable) $190 SEVIS (non-refundable) $960 program fee (refundable if visa denied)	$1,750			$1,750
Visa fees (paid to US Embassy in home country; non-refundable)	$160		when applying for visa	$160
Flight to USA, closest airport to host farm (estimated)	$1,000		when arriving to USA	$1,000
			TOTAL initial fees (prior to arrival)	$3,110

UPON ARRIVAL

Transportation (from airport to farm); provided by host	$0	upon arrival	$0
Work boots for visitor; provided by host	$0	upon arrival	$0
Hourly payment–first 8 weeks $7.25/hour for first 8 weeks Must be paid at least federal minimum wage–or state minimum wage, whichever is greater Based on 40 hours/week for calculation At least one day per week completely off Taxes are deducted Overtime is NOT GUARANTEED, nor paid at a higher rate in agriculture.	$7.25/hr 40 hrs x 8 weeks	during program	$2,320
Hourly payment to visitor–remainder of year $8/hour for remainder Must be paid at least federal minimum wage–or the state minimum wage, whichever is greater Increase recognizes learning gained by visitor. If host is not satisfied, host must advise visitor & Global Cow of specific concerns, and a timeline for reaching the increase Overtime is NOT GUARANTEED, nor paid at a higher rate in agriculture.	$8.00/hr 40 hrs x 44 weeks	during program	$14,080
Health insurance Payable monthly Hosts’ responsibility Not deducted from payments to visitor	$100/month	during program	$0
Administration Deduction from visitor’s hourly pay Paid directly to Numadi's partner by host farm	$200/month	during program	-$2,400
Housing Deduction of $100/month, from visitor’s hourly pay. Hosts are responsible to organize housing, which includes: Bed, chair, desk/table, chest, closet Bedding, towels Bedroom, bathroom, kitchen (can be shared) Safe drinking water Access to cleaning materials (vacuum, broom, etc) Access to washing machine, detergent, dryer Access to necessary storm/safety areas Access to a telephone Smoke alarm, fire extinguisher, carbon monoxide detector	$100/month	during program	-$1,200
Transportation Visitor needs to get groceries, supplies, attend local educational events, etc. Pickup and return to airport	variable	during program	$0
Food (estimated)	$300/month	during program	-$3,600
Flight home (estimated)	$1,000	end of program	-$1,000
		At end of first year (before taxes are deducted), you could have a positive amount of:	$9,260

Refund Policy

All fees noted as “non-refundable” are non-refundable.

The $200 website listing fee does NOT guarantee a placement with a host farm. Your information will be shown to hosts who are looking at the program. You will remain on the website for as long as you meet the program requirements.

If you are denied a J-1 visa by the US authorities, please understand that there is absolutely nothing that Numadi or their partner's can do. Final visa authority ALWAYS is decided by the US authorities with jurisdiction over the applicant’s permanent residence.

If you are denied the visa, US$960 (minus money transfer fees) will be eligible for a refund to you. In order to receive a visa-denial refund, you must–within four weeks of visa denial:

Return the original DS-2019 form to Numadi immediately.
Write a request for refunds of fees.
Do these two steps within four weeks of the denial. (If you do NOT comply with these three steps, Numadi will NOT give you a refund.)

Exchange visitors may leave the program at any time, by advising the program. However, fees paid into the program are NOT refunded. Also, exchange visitors may not remain in the USA.

Exchange visitors may not change farms without the sponsor's approval. The intention is to stay on one farm for the entire year.

In order to receive a certificate, exchange visitors must provide proof of departure from the USA to Numadi.