J-1 Visa Exploitation: Modern Slavery Allegations Across U.S. Sectors

(INDIANA, UNITED STATES) — Investigations have linked the J-1 visa program to exploitation that workers and advocates have described as “modern slavery,” spotlighting abusive conditions in jobs arranged through State Department-approved organizations.

Reports have documented excessive fees, unsafe work, and limited oversight in a program that brings over 300,000 participants a year from 200 countries to the United States for cultural exchange, education and work.

Notable cases and reported abuses

• Indiana (2023): A Korean student identified as Kang responded to an ad promising a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and later cleaned septic tanks at a steel mill without training. After he complained, he was fired and received no help from his sponsor. He paid 7.2 million won (about $5,200 USD) in 2023 in fees tied to the placement and filed a lawsuit.
• Oklahoma: A German student on a farm suffered a crushed skull after a truck tire explosion, cited as an example of dangerous placements for exchange visitors.
• Alaska: Investigations described J-1 workers at a seafood plant enduring 19-hour shifts; participants were tied to the WISE Foundation (2012). The same foundation was linked to similar placements at a Nebraska hog farm in 2019 with 12-hour days and deportation threats, with workers saying “it felt like slavery.”
• Pennsylvania: Reports included a Hershey’s plant with accounts of brutal conditions, squalid housing, and deportation threats, and a McDonald’s where reports described 25-hour shifts and wage theft.
• California: A Peruvian worker identified as Katrina reported being forced into excessive cleaning amid harassment, with no sponsor help; she used the State Department’s J-1 Emergency Unit to complain.

How the program is structured

• The J-1 visa program is administered by the U.S. Department of State and is formally aimed at cultural exchange under the 1961 Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act (the Fulbright-Hays Act).
• It operates under the J-1/BridgeUSA umbrella and includes 16 categories, such as:
  • Summer Work Travel
  • Au Pair
  • Intern
  • Trainee
  • Camp Counselor

Sponsor role and conflict of interest

• Sponsors are State Department-approved organizations that arrange placements and manage participants’ program status.
• Investigations and critics argue the sponsor model can create leverage over participants because sponsors:
  • Handle both job placement and immigration paperwork/status
  • Can control access to jobs and threaten removal from the program
  • In some reported cases, collude with employers and prioritize profit over safety and cultural exchange goals

Financial burdens on participants

• Reports describe sponsors and recruiters charging high placement fees, contributing to debt and dependence.
• Example: One sponsor was described as earning over 7 billion won yearly.
• The U.S. Study Abroad Institute was cited as charging up to $100/month in insurance premiums, adding to pre-work costs.

Oversight, enforcement, and responses

• The State Department’s public materials address topics such as safety, extensions, and SEVIS, but the official site does not mention recent abuse scandals. The site is available at the State Department’s J-1 visa website.
• Investigations have described oversight as “superficial” and “perfunctory,” despite official awareness of problems.
• The State Department has taken some actions, including de-designating sponsors and banning Alaska fish processing in response to scandals. However, reports say profit-driven actors have persisted in other parts of the system.
• Failed legislative efforts: A 2013 congressional bill to ban J-1 hiring fees failed after sponsor lobbying, leaving fee structures intact. Subsequent failed Senate bills sought to ban fees and shift oversight to the Department of Labor.

Data and scope of trafficking concerns

• Polaris Project data (2018–2020) identified 184 J-1 labor trafficking victims through the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
  • 45% of those victims reported jobs that did not match recruitment promises.
• Polaris data also showed that J-1 holders were part of 72% of known-visa labor trafficking cases (alongside H-2A/B and A-3/G-5 categories), highlighting how visa sponsorship arrangements can be exploited across programs.

Criticisms and policy arguments

• Critics, including the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), argue that:
  • J-1 participants can face debt bondage that amounts to human trafficking because sponsors control immigration status while charging fees.
  • J-1 participants deserve full labor rights rather than exemptions tied to being “exchange visitors.”
• Categories drawing particular scrutiny include au pair and Summer Work Travel, where vulnerabilities and weak enforcement are frequently reported.

Recurring patterns described by investigations

• Recruiters promising cultural exchange but placing participants in heavy labor
• Employers using threats of removal to deter complaints
• Sponsors being unresponsive when participants report injuries, wage theft, or unsafe conditions
• A business model in which sponsors earn money from placements while maintaining close ties with employers, sometimes prioritizing profit over safety

Key takeaway: Investigators and advocates frame these allegations as a modern slavery risk within a program marketed for mutual understanding, raising questions about how State Department-approved organizations are vetted and monitored when they profit from placements.

Current status

• According to the investigations, no major 2025 policy changes were reported as of December 2025, and the issues have persisted despite years of awareness.