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For programs that have a fundraising requirement (example McLean activate internships) Reliant is under no obligation to solicit the citizenship or visa status information for the participants so we do not need to ask that citizen question on the program application. However, if a participant offers this information (for example under the question of is there anything else that we need to know) then we need to deal with each specific visa immigration issue as it comes up. If they have the appropriate VISA then they can apply to be volunteers (unpaid) program attendees and attend a fundraising program where the support that is raised is donated directly to the program (not the individual).
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| For programs that have a fundraising requirement that have international travel during the program the participant is responsible to make sure they can get back into the county if they leave. In most cases it means the participant can not participate in the program during the dates that the other participants are out of the U.S. |
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| Only the US government can issue work visas. Organizations like Reliant can't issue that so they would need to obtain the appropriate US work visas on their own and then present a copy to Reliant. |
Here are a few examples of past scenarios to help for the future
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We had one of the McLean interns that had originally applied to go.reliant.org to be employed by Reliant and we had told him that Reliant is a US employer who employs US citizens and those who already have the right to work in the US. It is outside of our current capacities to assist foreign nationals in obtaining the right to work in the US. So therefore he could not be employed as an intern with Reliant. |
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However he had told us that as a student he was applying for a CPT (an off-campus employment option for F-1 Students when the practical training is an integral part of the established curriculum or academic program). He told us that the CPT employment is defined as alternative work/stud, internship, cooperative education, or any other type of required internship or practicum that is offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with the school. After talking to our immigration lawyers we were told that he could become an unpaid volunteer intern with Mclean and fundraise for the event. Our immigration lawyer said that |
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he could participate in the McLean volunteer activate intern program (since he is not hired or paid by us in that program), but we would need a CPT (Curricular Practical Training) authorization from his school to participate in the Reliant/McLean unpaid internship program as distinguishable from purely voluntary activities this summer before we could accept him into the program. |
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We also had a participant who had a J1 Visa (this is an exchange student visa) |
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. With a J1 Visa they would be allowed to support raise for the event as an unpaid volunteer intern with the Mclean Activate Program. However, her J1 Visa was going to expire while she was attending the program. Our immigration lawyers told us that she was allowed to raise support for the program without any problems up until 30 days after the date the J1 VISA expires. At that point we would need to close the ability for donors to give to her as a solicitor of the event that she was raising support for. In her case she was switching to a B1/B2 Visa after the J1 visa expired. A B1/B2 Visa is a business visa. The business visa says that you are coming from as selling company sponsored by the sending country to work and do business in the U.S. In other words, the foreign government is saying that this person is being supported by a company from the sending country to do business for the sending company in the U.S. With those visa parameters it means participants are not allowed to raise support for their event through Reliant. They could participant in an event that they paid a fee for, but they could not raise any support for it because they are being supported by the sending country company. |
