Purpose of Q-1 Program
The International cultural exchange programs under Q-1 classification are intended to provide practical training or
employment, in the United States (US) to aliens who will, during the course of their programs, share with the US public the
history, culture, and traditions of their home countries.
Q-1 Program Requirements
• Cultural exchange must take place in a school, museum, business, or other establishment where the American
public, or segment of the public sharing a common cultural interest, is exposed to aspects of a foreign culture in a
structured program.
• Program must have a cultural component that is an essential and integral part of the international cultural exchange
visitor’s employment or training. The cultural component of the program must be designed to exhibit or explain the
attitude, customs, history, heritage, philosophy, or traditions of the international cultural exchange visitor’s country
of nationality; and
• The employment and/or training component of the program may not be independent of the cultural component of the
program and must be the vehicle used to achieve the objectives of the cultural component of the program.
Eligibility of Employers/Petitioners for Q-1 Programs
• Employer must be actively conducting business in the US.
• Employer must maintain an established international cultural exchange program.
• Employer will offer Q-1 alien(s) wages and working conditions comparable to those accorded local domestic
workers similarly employed as well as demonstrate that it has the financial ability to remunerate the program
participants; and
• Employer must designate a qualified employee as a representative who will be responsible for administering the
international cultural exchange program and who will serve as liaison with the Department of Homeland Security,
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Eligibility of Alien Participants for Q-1 Programs
Aliens must:
• be at least 18 years old at the time the petition is filed and intend to leave the US upon conclusion of their
participation.
• Be qualified for the employment or training stated in the petition; and
• be capable of communicating effectively about the culture of their country of nationality to the US public.
• Have resided and been physically present outside of the United States for the immediate prior year, if they were
previously admitted as an international cultural exchange visitor.
• Q-1 aliens maintain lawful status in the US only while engaged in the approved training and/or employment.
There is not need to file an attestation with the Department of Labor (DOL).
Procedures for Obtaining Q-1 Classification
• Employer/petitioner must file a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker on Form I-129 and Q supplement with the
applicable fee of $185 which is submitted to the Service Center either having jurisdiction over the employer’s
headquarters or having jurisdiction over the location of the employment or training area.
• Initial submission requires complete documentation of program, including evidence that a management official has
been designated to administer program. Subsequent submissions, relating to an already approved program, will
determine an alien beneficiary’s eligibility for Q-1 classification. Multiple beneficiaries may be included on the same petition
.• Employer/petitioner who desires to have the processing of a Form I-129 for a Q-1 petition expedited, must file Form
I-907 “Request for Premium Processing Service” with the appropriate fee of $1,000 (request Employer Information
Bulletin 20).
Duration of Q-1 Petition
A Q-1 petition is approved for duration of the approved program or 15 months, whichever is shorter. The total period of time
that a Q-1 alien may stay in the United States may not be extended beyond 15 months, although a previous Q-1 beneficiary
may participate in another international cultural exchange program if he/she has resided and been physically present outside
the US for at least one-year (exclusive of any brief US visits).
Q-1 Employment Eligibility and Authorization
Since Q-1 status is program-specific, Q-1 aliens may work only for one or more employers whose Q-1 petitions filed on the
aliens’ behalf have been approved by the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Documentation of work authorization is an unexpired Form I-94 Arrival-Departure Record, endorsed Q-1, which may be
accepted only by an employer that has an approved Q-1 petition for the alien.
Dependents
Q-1 classification does not include a derivative status for dependents. However, dependents of Q-1 principal aliens may
accompany them to the US under any other nonimmigrant classification for which they are eligible, including B-2 visitor for
pleasure status. Dependents, who enter on a B-2 visa, may not work.
