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Steps to hiring international summer paid interns?

We are a US-based company and want to hire summer paid interns from other countries. Three questions:

  1. What are the steps to this?
  2. Do the steps vary by country?
  3. What is the timeline for getting this setup legally?

Answer 3957

The steps to bring in an intern vary by country, and they’re usually lengthy even when recruiting interns from Europe. The time needed is measured in months rather than weeks.

Eligibility for US work authorization for reference. There also are special dispositions for former green card holders. Insofar as I can recollect, one’s ability to go to the US for an internship aren’t so different from them. Note point 3) in particular, as it directly applies.

Your best shot at hiring foreign interns in practice are the following:

  1. Find foreigners who are currently spending a semester or longer in the US. This solves the Visa problem upfront, and it greatly simplifies the process of getting a work authorization if they do not have one already.

  2. Contact foreign universities from which you’re open to recruiting an intern long in advance. Aim for the ones that have partnerships with US universities (there are many). They’ll usually know what steps their students need to take, and – more often than not – will assist with getting the paperwork done.

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