The American Friends of Arts et Métiers (AFAM) is a non-profit organization of type 501(c) (3) incorporated in California. AFAM helps grow the brand of Arts et Métiers in the United States.

AFAM’s mission is to grow the brand image of Arts et Métiers ParisTech in the United States and to strengthen the community of its students and alumni residing in the US.

AFAM is governed by a volunteer board of directors:

https://www.americanfriendsam.org/index.php/about-us/team

The 2018 AFAM team includes Art et Métiers alumni, a representative of la SOCE, a representative of Arts et Métiers school, a representative of Fondation Arts et Métiers, and a Community Manager:

https://www.americanfriendsam.org/index.php/about-us/team

If you are an Arts et Métiers student, you can apply to the Shasta internship program:

https://www.americanfriendsam.org/index.php/shasta-internship/shasta-2-0-for-students

Yes, AFAM can provide financing for students who found an internship in the United States. You can find more information about the selection process here:

https://www.americanfriendsam.org/index.php/shasta-internship/financial-help

Mentorship is one of the features of the Shasta program. Students selected for the Shasta program are helped by their mentors during their internship search.

If you are an Arts et Métiers alumnus or alumna residing in the USA and want to give back to your school and help Arts et Métiers students, mentorship is a great way to do so. Please contact Albina Patou-Chebykina to discuss mentorship opportunity.

The mission of AFAM is to help Arts et Métiers students to find internships, not jobs. However, we encourage you to contact AFAM to see if we have any resources or information to provide you with for your search. We also invite you to join AFAM LinkedIn and Facebook pages and sign up for our newsletter to be informed about Arts et Métiers community in the United States and get in touch with Arts et Métiers alumni.

Yes. We encourage alumni to post internship and job openings available in their US companies. 

We have a secure private space on the AFAM website to share internship openings:

https://www.americanfriendsam.org/index.php/shasta-internship/internship-postings

Created in January 2010, Shasta Internship program is a program designed to help Arts et Métiers ParisTech students get an international experience in the United States. The program is named after Mt. Shasta, a majestic dormant volcano in Northern California and a spectacular site that interns should visit during their stay.

Students are available for various types of internships:

• Standard summer internships during the summer months of June, July, and August
  
  
• Six-month internships beginning in February/March for students during their last year of graduate study, working on a final project with the internship
  
  
• Extended Summer internship from July to January for students to complete for their final year specialization
  
  

Yes. A Shasta committee considers selection criteria such as academic performance, English fluency, individual commitment, personal project and entrepreneurship.

You will just need to fill forms (A Training/Internship Placement Plan, Form DS-7002) which will take you around 2 hours to fill out. The J-1 visa process is initiated by the student who works with a sponsor (InterExchange, Parenthèse etc) to get the visa.

If you want to take care of your interns’ visa yourself, but have never done it before and would like to know more about it, you can contact AFAM’s partner InternAbroad for more information:

Leslie Dollet

leslied@internabroadusa.com

Phone: (786) 357-5519
Miami / San Francisco

More information is available on the following websites:

http://www.internabroadusa.com, http://www.interexchange.org/careertrainingusa, Parenthèse London and http://www.faccsf.com.

The compensation is ultimately set by the employer. AFAM recommends a minimum compensation of $2000 per month depending upon the location of the position.

Participants on a J-1 Visa are considered non-resident aliens. They should not have any Social Security (FICA), Medicare or federal unemployment (FUTA) taxes withheld. Please consult a tax professional to find out if participants are exempt from state unemployment taxes in your state. For more detailed tax information, please review the IRS's Employer Tax Guide and Publication 515.

No. Medical insurance will be provided to students by the sponsor (InterExchange or CIEE) or their French medical insurance.

Yes, you do, unless you happen to be a U.S. citizen. It is not legal to work in the United States unless you have a qualified visa, even for a short period of time such as a summer internship. The visas for which you may qualify are of type F1 or J1.

It is typically your employer’s responsibility to sponsor you for a J1 visa. However, if you only rely upon your employer for sponsorship, you may be passed over by other applicants who do not need a sponsor (e.g. US citizens or non US students who already have a sponsor).

Internship applications in the US are very competitive. So, you may be well served to contact other organizations that can also sponsor students for a J1 visa, once they have identified a qualified internship and received a legitimate offer from an employer.

You may contact:

• Parenthese. Their web site in French is: http://www.parenthese-paris.com.

To give you access to J-1 visas, Parenthese has set up a partnership with CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange), appointed official sponsor by the US Department of State. Together, Parenthese and CIEE allow you to legally undertake a structured program of practical training within a US host company.The official documents that are delivered to you – eligibility certificate DS-2019 and SEVIS fees receipt – will allow you to apply for the J-1 visa at the American Consulate in your country of residence or your country of origin if necessary. The average time frame to obtain the DS-2019 is 2 to 3 weeks.

• InternAbroad

InternAbrod work with Parenthese for visa sponsorship. So if you have already found your internship and just need to apply for a J-1 visa, you can contact directly Parenthes. Though, if you have not found your internship yet, contact InternAbroad to be a part of their Internship Placement Program. It is to note that AFAM is in partnership with InternAbroad and Arts et Métiers students do not pay fees for Etape 1 of the internship search (99 euros). For more information about Intern Abroad placement programs, visit their Stage long and Stage court pages and Job Board.

• Interexchange

InterExchange offers two different programs for students, recent graduates and young professionals. For details on J-1 Visa requirements for each group, please visit the website: http://www.interexchange.org/ct-participant-requirements 

1. J-1 Visa Sponsorship Program:
   This program is for candidates that have found their own positions and simply need J-1 Visa sponsorship to legally work in the US. Current students or recent graduates (who graduated within the last year) are eligible to apply as long as they find internships related to their field of study. J-1 Intern Visas can last from a month to a maximum duration of one year for that program. Applicants who graduated more than a year ago can apply for a J-1 Trainee Visa as long as they have one year of work experience related to the field of the internship in the US. The maximum duration of the Trainee Visa is 18 months.
   
2. Internship Placement Program:
   This is for candidates looking for placements in the US It’s important to mention that Internexchange do not do independent job searches for candidates interested in the Placement Program. Interexchange has an internship board (www.interexchangejobs.org/internships) that lists all of the positions for which they are currently recruiting for and students can apply to the program if they are interested in and qualified for one of the positions posted on the internship board. If there are no positions that match their qualifications, they can keep checking back on the site for new positions that become available. The Internship Placement Program is small and the number of engineering positions available is very limited.