{"id":799,"date":"2026-03-05T02:20:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T02:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ed2chat.com\/j1\/?p=799"},"modified":"2026-03-05T02:53:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T02:53:06","slug":"our-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ed2chat.com\/j1\/our-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Program Costs\/Fees and Deposits\/Refunds<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

All costs\/fees charged to the participants<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As an organization committed to equity, accessibility, and recognizing the intrinsic value of the work undertaken by our participants, we have made a deliberate decision not to impose any fees on the teachers in our J-1 program. We firmly believe that the work of educators is paramount in shaping the future, fostering mutual understanding, and building bridges between cultures. Therefore, we are dedicated to ensuring that our program remains accessible to all qualified teachers, regardless of their financial circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cost \/ Fee<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Amount<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Description<\/strong><\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Initial program fee\/ DS-2019 fee<\/strong><\/td>$0<\/strong><\/td>J-1 teacher participants will not pay any program fees to E2C<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
DS-2019 extension\/ renewal<\/strong><\/td>$0<\/strong><\/td>J-1 teacher participants will not pay any program fees to E2C<\/td><\/tr>
SEVIS Transfer fee<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>$0<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>J-1 teacher participants will not pay any program fees to E2C<\/td><\/tr>
Placement fee<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>$0<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>J-1 teacher participants will not pay any program fees to E2C<\/td><\/tr>
Dependent Fee<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>$0<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>J-1 teacher participants will not pay any dependent processing fees to E2C<\/td><\/tr>
Other fees<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>$0<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>J-1 teacher will not pay other program-related fees i.e., Travel Validation Fee, Replacement DS-2019 if Lost or Stolen, J-2 Dependent Application<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

List of fees paid by host schools before and during placement:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Cost \/ Fee<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Amount<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Description<\/strong><\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Initial program fee\/ DS-2019 fee<\/strong><\/td>$2,500<\/strong><\/td>Includes DS\u20112019 issuance, SEVIS compliance monitoring, monthly check-ins, cultural activity oversight<\/td><\/tr>
DS-2019 extension\/ renewal<\/strong><\/td>$300<\/strong><\/td>For extensions beyond the initial 3\u2011year program.<\/td><\/tr>
SEVIS Transfer fee<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>$500<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>For teachers transferring from another J\u20111 sponsor.<\/td><\/tr>
Placement Fee<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>$2000<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Covers full-cycle recruitment, candidate vetting, interview coordination, reference checks, and matching with host school needs.<\/td><\/tr>
Dependent Fee<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>$50<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Processing, DS\u20112019 issuance, and ongoing monitoring.<\/td><\/tr>
Other fees<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>$0<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Host School will not pay other program-related fees i.e., Travel Validation Fee, Replacement DS-2019 if Lost or Stolen, J-2 Dependent Application<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Other program costs paid by E2C:<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Cost \/ Fee<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Amount<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Description<\/strong><\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Background Check Fee<\/strong><\/td>$0<\/strong><\/td>Host school pays no fee; teacher pays no fee<\/td><\/tr>
Moreland University Teachprep Program<\/strong><\/td>$0<\/strong><\/td>Host school pays no fee; teacher pays no fee<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Other costs the participant is likely to incur<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As stated above, no fees are charged to the participants in our program for Ed2Chat sponsorship and related services. However, there are other costs and fees that the teachers will be responsible for that are not paid to Ed2Chat. We provide the below estimates for other costs and fees that the participants are likely to incur before and during participation in the J-1 Teacher Exchange Program in the Pre-Arrival & Orientation Handbook for J-1 Teachers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fees Paid after the DS-2019 is issued: <\/strong>
<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Cost \/ Fee<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Amount<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Description<\/strong><\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
DS-160 Visa Application Fee<\/strong><\/td>$185.00<\/strong><\/td>Paid to the U.S. embassy for your J-1 visa appointment. This fee is paid for each separate J-2 appointment also.<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
SEVIS Fee<\/strong><\/td>$220<\/strong><\/td>Registration in SEVIS for the J-1 paid prior to the J-1 visa appointment. Note, all additional J-2 dependents are included in this price.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Costs before travel to the US:<\/strong>
<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Flights and Transportation to the United States<\/strong><\/td>Varies: <\/strong><\/strong>$500-$2,000<\/strong><\/td>Depending on airline and current pricing.<\/td><\/tr>
Transcript (Credential) Evaluation<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>$150 to $200<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Paid to private company like WES<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Exam Fee<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>$90 – $300<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Varies by state<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Costs after arrival to the US: <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Housing in the United States<\/strong><\/td>Varies: <\/strong><\/strong>$500-$3,000<\/strong><\/td>Per month, depending on type of housing (room, apartment house), living alone vs. having roommates, the neighborhood, et cetera.<\/td><\/tr>
Utilities: <\/strong><\/strong>Water, Gas, Electricity<\/strong><\/td>Varies:<\/strong><\/strong>$0-$300<\/strong><\/td>Per month, depending on personal usage. Note some or all may be included in your housing rent price.<\/td><\/tr>
Food<\/strong><\/td>Varies:<\/strong><\/strong>$250-$1,000<\/strong><\/td>Per month, depending on personal use, eating out of the home vs. cooking, number of family members, et cetera.<\/td><\/tr>
Cell Phone<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Varies:<\/strong><\/strong>$50-$200<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Per month, depending on the service provider and whether you are financing the price of the phone.<\/td><\/tr>
Home Internet<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Varies:<\/strong><\/strong>$50-$100<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Per month, depending on the service provider plan, data speeds, et cetera.<\/td><\/tr>
Transportation<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Varies:<\/strong><\/strong>$40-$500<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Per month, depending on use of public transportation options vs. leasing or financing a personal vehicle.<\/td><\/tr>
Entertainment and <\/strong><\/strong>Cultural Activities<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Varies:<\/strong><\/strong>$40-$200<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Per month, depending on personal participation and type of activity.<\/td><\/tr>
Child Care Fee<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>$1,000 and up\/ month<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Per month, depending on the location<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Paycheck deductions:<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Federal Taxes<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>10-24% of pay<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Federal taxes are withheld on a paycheck. Please visit https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/filing\/federal-income-tax-rates-and-brackets<\/a> for information<\/td><\/tr>
State and Local Taxes<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Varies: <\/strong>
<\/strong>0% – 13% of pay<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>		State taxes are withheld on paycheck. Local taxes may also be withheld. https:\/\/www.paycom.com\/resources\/blog\/state-income-tax-rates\/<\/td><\/tr>
Union Dues, State Teacher Pension Contributions<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Varies: $50-150\/month<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Per month, depending on the school district.<\/td><\/tr>
Health Insurance<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>$100\/ month and up<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Per month, depending on the school district.<\/td><\/tr>
Retirement<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Varies: 0 – 10% of pay<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Per month, depending on the school district.<\/td><\/tr>
Social Security\/ Medicare (FICA)<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>6.2% of pay<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>J-1 visa holders are exempt for the first year and a half.  Afterwards, the deduction is 6.2%.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In addition, we also encourage participants that when they first arrive in the United States to begin their programs, it may take up to a month to receive their first paycheck and that there will also be many initial expenses such as an initial housing deposit and other necessities. Therefore, we recommend that they bring or have access to at least $3,000 in initial funds on their arrival, and more if they have any accompanying dependents.
 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cost \/ Fee Amount Description Initial program fee\/ DS-2019 fee $0 J-1 teacher participants will not pay any program fees to E2C DS-2019 extension\/ renewal $0 J-1 teacher participants will not pay any program fees to E2C SEVIS Transfer fee $0 J-1 teacher participants will not pay any program fees […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ed2chat.com\/j1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ed2chat.com\/j1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ed2chat.com\/j1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ed2chat.com\/j1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ed2chat.com\/j1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=799"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/ed2chat.com\/j1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":822,"href":"https:\/\/ed2chat.com\/j1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799\/revisions\/822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ed2chat.com\/j1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ed2chat.com\/j1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ed2chat.com\/j1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}