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You will receive your DS-2019 through the Matchio portal once you have been placed at Camp and completed your documentation in full.

A DS-2019 is a US work authorisation document issued by an approved program sponsor like AmeriCamp. It allows a foreign national to apply for a J-1 Visa, enter the US, and prove legal status for study, work, or cultural exchange. AmeriCamp pays for and generates a DS-2019 for you, to confirm you are eligible to apply for a J-1 Visa.

No, you do not need an ESTA (tourist visa) in addition to your J-1 Visa. The only exception to this is if you travel outside of the US after Camp, and decide to re-enter the country, you would need an ESTA for this. For more information about the regulations and limitations of your Visa see our Post-Camp Travel page.

The dates listed on your Visa are the dates you are permitted to work at Camp. You are still permitted to arrive up to 30 days before the start date on your Visa and leave up to 30 days after the end date on your Visa. However, you are not permitted to work outside of the dates listed on your Visa. For more information about the regulations and limitations of your Visa see our Post-Camp Travel page.

The time frame for your Visa will depend on you and how quickly you are able to complete your documentation. Once you have completed the DS-160 and your US embassy appointment is booked, the process will usually be quite straightforward. At the London and Belfast US embassies, the turnaround time is usually between 5-10 working days. The embassy will take your passport at your interview and post it back to you within this time frame with the Visa printed inside.

Delays can occur, due to social media checks and process changes by the US government, so it is advised to complete your Visa application as early as possible and in a timely manner. 

No, we strongly advise against completing a postal Visa, on the rare occasion that it is available, as it can cause major delays to your Visa processing.

All applicants must attend an in person interview at the US embassy in order to obtain a J-1 Visa, including First Timers, Returners and Direct Placements.

Yes, AmeriCamp provide fully detailed Visa Instructions via email to all eligible applicants with a full run through of:

• How to complete your DS-160 form
• How to book your US embassy appointment
• What documents you will need to take with you to the US embassy

Once you are Visa ready we will issue your DS-2019 form, the document that confirms your eligibility for a J-1 Visa, and send you detailed step-by-step instructions of how to apply for your Visa. This will involve an online application on the US government website, called a DS-160, and an interview at your closest US embassy.

Please note, you should not attempt to apply for a Visa before we send you instructions as it is possible you could apply for the wrong Visa type.

You can apply for your Visa once you have been placed at Camp and completed your documentation in full. Appointments for J-1 Camp Counsellor Visas at the US Embassies in the UK and Ireland usually take place between December and July.

The majority of Visa fees (including the DS-2019 and SEVIS fees) are covered by your AmeriCamp program fees. The only fee you need to pay for during the Visa process is directly to the US embassy to book an interview. This is currently a fee of $185 (approx. £140 or €160) but is variable at the will of the US Government.

In order to be ready to apply for your Visa, you need to have completed your application in full and be placed with a Camp. If you need to find out if you are Visa Ready or what you may be missing to be ready please contact the AmeriCamp team.

A J-1 Visa does not authorise residence in the US and cannot be used to emigrate to the US permanently. On the J-1 Camp Counsellor Visa you cannot work in any role other than as a Camp Counsellor meaning you are not authorised to: 

• Work anywhere outside of Camp e.g. a hotel, bar or restaurant
• Work as support staff 
• Work at Camp full time year-round

Your J-1 Camp Counsellor Visa allows you to live and work at a Summer Camp in the US for up to three months. The Visa is inclusive of your work period in the US as well as up to 30 days of travel before and after your contracted work period anywhere in the US.

A J-1 Visa is a non-immigrant, work or study-based exchange visitor Visa offered by the US for cultural understanding, training, and knowledge sharing. The Camp Counsellor program is a J-1 program as it requires a temporary working visitor Visa and is a cultural exchange program.

You cannot use a medical form from another sponsor you have used previously. However, returners who have been through AmeriCamp previously can submit their Camps medical form in place of an AmeriCamp form if preferred provided they are dated after September 1st.

No, you must complete a new medical form each year of participation to ensure a continuous clear bill of health. However, returners who have been through AmeriCamp previously can submit their Camps medical form in place of an AmeriCamp form if preferred.

If your GP is unable to complete the Medical Form, we would recommend using our partners over at ZoomDoc who are able to complete this form usually within 2 working days. The current cost for a form through ZoomDoc is £65 but you can use code AMERICAMP for 10% off.

No, the form does not require a medical examination and can be completed based on your medical records. 

No, the form must be submitted alongside any vaccination records. A printed vaccine record can be used as a substitute for the vaccine table on the form, but not the whole form.

This document is accessible under the resources section of the Matchio portal from September 1st of the year prior to participation.  

All applicants must have a Medical Evaluation form completed by a medical professional. This form supports your fitness to participate and is the confirmation you have received the required vaccinations. 

DBS Background Check fee becomes non-refundable at the point of submission of your application to our designated DBS partner. DBS Background Check fee is only refundable if:

• Your information has not yet been submitted to our DBS partner
• You mistakenly pay for the DBS as a non-UK resident who cannot apply for a Background check through our designated partner

No, if you are an applicant based in Ireland you cannot apply for a DBS. You will be required to apply for a Garda Vetting Police Certificate. 

Once the DBS is in the processing phase it is out of our hands and being handled by your local police force. If the application is in processing for over 60 days it will be automatically escalated for priority by the DBS service but this does not guarantee completion within a certain time frame. 

If your digital verification fails it is likely for one of the following reasons:

• The current address you input does not match your verification documents e.g. you input your town name or house number twice.
• You input the wrong Date of Registration when selecting your Birth Certificate as a verification document.
• You input your Driving License number incorrectly when selecting this as a verification document.

In this event, you may be charged an additional admin fee for manual verification of documents by the AmeriCamp team. You will receive an email from us requesting images of your three verification documents and you should reply via email to provide these so we can verify your identity and personal information.

The online DBS check itself will only take a matter of minutes, but processing following this usually takes between 2 - 4 weeks. You will not be sent your physical certificate immediately and should allow a minimum of 2 weeks to receive this.

On some occasions the processing will be longer, taking up to 12 weeks, so we encourage all applicants to apply for this as early as possible to avoid delays.

You can apply for your DBS from September 1st of the year prior to travel. To ensure you receive your DBS in time for departure to Camp, we advise you to complete this check as early as possible. Our recommendation is to pay for and complete the check following a successful AmeriCamp interview. 

To apply for the DBS required for our program, you will pay the DBS fee on your Intellibook Payment portal. Following this you will be sent a link to join the Know Your People service and complete a quick and easy online DBS check. 

You are not required to go to a post office or our office to have your documents verified, as you can verify these using the camera on your phone. If for any reason your digital verification is not successful, you will be required to send images of your verification documents to a member of the AmeriCamp team via email. 

When your check is complete you will receive a physical DBS certificate in the mail and must upload an image of this to your Matchio Portal, under Background Check.

Our DBS fee is £85, which is inclusive of the enhanced DBS check required for the program as well as a digital verification fee that allows you to complete your check from the comfort of your home. 

No, you must apply for a new DBS every year of participation to ensure a continuous clear record. This must also be applied for through our partner service and countersigned by AmeriCamp.

No, we are only able to accept a DBS that has been applied for through our partner service and countersigned by AmeriCamp. We have all of our applicants go through the exact same process to ensure they have the correct Enhanced DBS required for the program, to avoid falsified records and to ensure standardisation across the board.

When a DBS is processed through our partner service, we get a digital copy of the DBS as well as the physical certificate that is sent out to the applicant, so we have complete assurance that everyone has a clear criminal history, to ensure the safety of the campers who attend our Camps.

If you have not heard from your Camp in a while make sure you:

• Check your spam folder to make sure contact from them has not ended up in there.
• Reach out to them through their preferred communication channel to make sure you have not missed anything.
• Reach out to us at AmeriCamp if there is something urgent you are concerned about and your Camp is not responding, so we can contact them.

Camp should be in touch with you to provide the best methods for contacting them, whether this be via email, Whatsapp or through another work messaging app such as Slack.

The details of your placement will be available to review on your Matchio portal once you have signed your placement agreement - including your Camp address, how you will travel from the airport to Camp and details of your role/salary. 

In order to make your placement official, you need to accept your placement agreement on your Matchio portal. Your placement is not secured until this is signed, and since it will expire, you need to sign it as soon as you can. 

Please make sure to read through the information on your placement agreement and ensure everything is correct - it should list the role and salary you were expecting and all personal information should match your passport. 

Virtual hiring events are usually invite-only, however, if there are any open opportunities available, you will receive an email from us and should respond as soon as you can.

We also host invite-only virtual hiring events throughout the year, where we will custom match applicants with a certain Camp or Camps looking to interview large groups in one day. For these opportunities, you will receive an invite from AmeriCamp via email and given a short time slot during which you will have an interview over Zoom with the Camp you’ve been matched with. 

No, once you have a job offer secured, you should not continue to interview with Camps. Once a placement agreement is signed with a Camp, this is a written agreement between Camp and staff that Camps expect to be honored. 

The interviewer will usually ask you about:

• Why you want to go to Camp
• Why you would be a great fit for their Camp
• Your relevant skills and experience for the role - with specific examples
• What you would do in certain situations - e.g. when dealing with homesick campers or tasked with planning an activity

To prepare for an interview with a Camp you can:

• Start by checking out the Camps website. This will get you excited for the interview and help show the Camp you have a genuine enthusiasm for the role.
• Reflect on your experience and how you can demonstrate you have the skills for the role you are interviewing for. 
• Make sure you look presentable and are in a location where there is no excessive background noise.
• Prepare a couple questions you can ask at the end about Camp life or the role you are interviewing for. Avoid asking about time off, phone usage etc.

No, most Camp interviews take place virtually as the leadership members will usually be based in the US. The only time you would interview with a Camp in person would be at one of our Camp Fairs which you can learn more about here.

You will likely be interviewing with a Camp Director or other member of Camp leadership. This will likely be someone who has attended and worked at Camp for several years and has a strong understanding of the role of a Camp Counsellor.

We recommend staying open-minded and accepting every interview you are offered! You never really know what a Camp may be like before speaking to the Directors and so it is best to take every opportunity possible.

Camps will contact you through the Matchio portal or via email to invite you for an interview. You will have a set amount of time to respond but should get back to them as soon as possible to schedule an interview.

You cannot bring a friend or family member who is not an AmeriCamp applicant into the main event space where the Camps are due to capacity limitations. They can come drop you off or hang out in and around the venue (depending on location) but will have to wait for you outside of the main event space. 

You can wear anything you are comfortable in, as long as it is appropriate (i.e. no offensive graphics or immodest clothing). Most people just wear a comfy pair of jeans and some light layers in case it gets warm in the event space. 

No, just a smile and positive attitude (and maybe a snack)! Camps will have access to your full applications through the Matchio portal and will be able to easily pull up your details. But if you are a creative person and want to show off some of your work, you can bring a portfolio of examples to present to Camps. 

No, attending a Camp Fair is not mandatory. If attending a Camp Fair is not a viable option for you, we will work hard to get you placed through our online hiring portal. 

The date and location of our Camp Fairs changes slightly each year, but we generally host them across the UK in October/November and January. You can check out our upcoming events on our Eventbrite page. 

If you need more information about the venue including parking and accessibility, please contact AmeriCamp.

No problem at all! Our hiring doesn't end with our Camp Fairs and we will work hard to get you placed through our online hiring portal.