Businesses Hiring International Students

More than two million visitors cross the county line each year. The majority of those visitors arrive between May and October. The people who serve the millions are a temporary work force and many of them are international exchange students.

A visa program for business owners looking to hire international exchange students this summer will be held in Sister Bay at the Liberty Grove South Fire Station. The program will explain how to handle the Department of State while managing housing, transportation and other issues unique to a seasonal work force.

The J-1 Visa program allows international students to work and study in the United States for a period of about five months depending on the country they are coming from. Students generally participate in the program during the summer season, their major school break.

“One of the biggest problems is there just aren’t enough people to hire,” said Jewel Ouradnik, owner of Rowleys Bay Resort. “If there were Americans to hire, I would be hiring Americans day and night. The population in our area is not really the work force. The retirees aren’t interested in working.”

Phil Berndt, membership director of the Door County Visitor Bureau, believes American students no longer want to wash dishes or bus tables as they did in past years. Students want to skip ahead and wait tables. J-1 employees are happy to fill this gap.

Rowleys Bay has used the program to hire up to 25 international employees in a season. More than 160 students work in Door County on J-1 Visas each summer. Main Street Market and the Landmark Resort in Egg Harbor also use the program to fill the shortfall of American seasonal employees during the season.

The Americans who do work during the summer often have to leave in the middle of August to go back to school.

“Another hurdle for students and employers are the high number of school-related activities, especially sports, which often start in July or August – when staffing demands are highest,” continued Berndt. “J-1 participants are very eager to fill these positions while they sharpen their English skills and, because their school year begins later than ours, J-1 students typically arrive when they are needed most and are able to work longer into the autumn than American students.”

Throughout the student’s stay, employers are forced to keep in close contact with the Department of State.

“The rules have gotten a lot stricter,” said Ouradnik. “The State Department checks in frequently to check that students are still employed here. I hire them and they show up in New York and they don’t make it any further.”

Ouradnik has had a couple of cases where an employee doesn’t show up for work one day and he or she is not seen again.

“I’ve never had anybody from the State Department come here to check on me but they do want to know what your intentions are,” said Ouradnik, explaining that the State Department wants to know more than just where a student is working.

One requirement for the program is to provide the students with a cultural exchange on top of their work experience. Door County BRDIGES, a group that provides aid to international students working in the county, seeks to fulfill this requirement with social activities such as golf outings, hikes and English classes.

“Students often get invited to homes to share an American meal, experience an outing… all through the kindness and generosity of families committed to enriching the American cultural experience,” said Carol Mooney, student coordinator for the BRIDGES program.

The State Department has tightened this requirement since J-1 Visa students won a settlement claiming abusive conditions at a Hershey candy factory in Pennsylvania. Some employers have begun offering housing and meals to their J-1 employees.

“They’re getting a lot more strict with us as employers in proving what are we doing is not working them to death,” said Ouradnik, who believes in the exchange of culture for work.

At the same time, the program hopes to impact the cultural awareness of the businesses and community.

“Employers have a truly unique opportunity to bring the world to their workplace by creating a life-changing opportunity not only for their participants, but also for their American employees,” said Katy Smith, work and travel business development specialist at CCI Greenheart, a group that serves as the sponsor for hundreds of J-1 Visa students around the country.

“Business owners looking to hire international participants should expect hardworking, eager employees. Participants may need some time or extra help adjusting to American culture, but they are also very excited to work and learn,” said Smith.

The informational J-1 program for business owners will take place at the Liberty Grove South Fire Station in Sister Bay on Tuesday, April 21, from 9 am to 12 pm. Attendees should RSVP to Haldis Toppen at [email protected].