1 Year Grad USA Visa

Make your experience after graduation count with a US grad visa 

 If this was a Friends episode, it would be ‘The One That Almost Got Away.’ Why? Because you only have 12 months from your grad cert date to enter the USA on this one-time visa. The bridge between college and your career, Grad USA is the chance to put all your academic achievements into practice – to learn from leaders in your field, globalise your CV, and jumpstart your professional training. 

You can work anywhere in the USA, doing paid or unpaid positions, and you’re not limited to one year-long internship. You can do multiple shorter placements with 30 days of travel permitted in-between – giving you the freedom to live on different coasts, travel around the States, and add more varied work experience to your CV. Plus, you have 90 days from the day your work papers begin to secure your position. Get valuable face time with future employers and secure the best position for you by arriving early and interviewing in person. 
 
Meet the people who can expand your career horizons and build the experience that'll get you your dream job back home. 

Where you can go

Popular destinations for Irish graduates are New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco – but you can live and work almost anywhere in the States on this visa. You also don’t have to stay in one place. You could have a fairytale winter interning in New York and an all-American summer working in LA, with a classic road trip in-between. 

What you can do 

You will be interning in your field of study. Popular industries for Irish graduates to work in America are construction, engineering, tech, politics, law, finance, science, architecture, media, publishing, marketing and fashion – but you can intern in almost field as long as it is related to your education. 

Previous participants have done everything from script editing at Universal Studios to assisting at the Federal Attorneys Office. There are some roles within certain industries that aren’t permitted, but our grad experts will be able to guide you around these restrictions and help you find a position within that industry that is likely to be approved by our sponsor. 

Just remember… The ethos of the Grad USA program is to gain experience in your field of study and bring that experience home to Ireland at the end of your visa. If you wish to pursue a career in the USA, please do not apply for this visa. Participants should not view this program as an avenue to obtaining a full time or long-term position with an employer. 

Who can go

To go on this program, you must: 

• Have an Irish passport
• Be 18+ years old 

And be able to fulfil one of the below student requirements:

• If you’re a final year student you can apply for the Grad USA visa program now and travel any time after you’ve received your final exam results and passed your degree.
• If you’ve already graduated you must enter the USA within 12 months of the date on your graduation certificate. You must have done a full-time academic course in a recognised Irish university or college including Northern Ireland (running for at least two years) that will ultimately lead to a degree or higher qualification (Level 6 Major Award on Qualifax). If you have completed a Level 6 Major Award, then at least 50% of coursework must be academic. Unfortunately, online, special purpose, springboard or professionally awarded degrees such as ACCA or FE1 are not eligible.
• If you’re a Masters student you must enter the USA within 12 months of the date on your graduation certificate.
• If you’re a resident in Northern Ireland but hold an Irish passport and have graduated from an Irish university, you may still be eligible for this program. Please contact our team.

Application deadlines

This program is year-round but the deadline will be different for everybody based off the individual date on each grad cert. It takes 12 weeks to process your application, so get in touch with our team today regarding the best time to apply!