State Department Official Checks out Summer Program
WILDWOOD – A U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state visited the city Aug. 27 to learn more about how the J-1 visa program is working under one of the region’s largest employers of international student workers.
Rebecca Pasini, who is responsible for overseeing the Summer Work Travel Program for the State Department, visited Morey’s Piers, which employs roughly 500 students who this year came from about 25 countries, including Spain, Bulgaria, Turkey, Malaysia and Vietnam.
The students represent about one-third of the total workforce at Morey’s Piers, according to Kyle Morey, director of marketing for Morey’s.
Pasini addressed a group of the students at a near-the-end-of-summer luau put on by the Morey’s organization.
“What you are doing is very important to the Department of State,” she said.
The purpose of her visit, according to Morey’s, was to witness the impact of the J-1 program on the community and how employers such as Morey’s care for and support the students while they are in the Wildwoods.
Pasini said there are about 300,000 workers who enter the United States each year under the J-1 visa program. A J-1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa that can be used for various reasons, including cultural exchange.
“A big part of this is the cultural exchange,” Morey said. “The Bridge program requires it.”
BridgeUSA, according to its website, is a “multi-partisan student movement that champions viewpoint diversity, responsible discourse, and a solution-oriented political culture.”
Morey said his company arranges for its student workers to take bus trips to some of the big cities in the region or to places such as Niagara Falls to enhance their experience in the United States.
Pasini told the students they have undoubtedly picked up skills they could take back to their home countries, as well as established contacts to remain in touch with later.
“And you will go home with a greater understanding of the United States,” she said.
Many of the students worked in service aspects of the amusement industry: in the food and beverage units, as ride operators or even as lifeguards. Morey said the lifeguards acquire certification before beginning work. He said the food and beverage workers must become familiar with U.S. and state laws regarding food service.
“There are many programs where they need to be trained,” he said.
He said the process for obtaining a J-1 visa begins in November, when students begin applying. Many learn about the program in their own country. Morey said his organization sent a team of two to Thailand, Taiwan and Turkey: He said showing up in person is a very important part of the recruiting process.
He said the students must adhere to State Department regulations, which include having 35 hours of work a week in a specific job title. In addition, sponsors are supposed to provide them with housing, which they do for the vast majority of their workers. The students pay a fee for housing, but Morey said his organization charges far less than market rates.
Morey said they are at the part of the season where they are trying to retain as many J-1 workers as possible to wrap up the main part of summer. They pay the workers $15 per hour by New Jersey minimum wage standards and offer an additional $1 for every hour worked if they stay through the end of the season.
Students such as Isabella Izetova from Bulgaria and Sara Vicent from Spain worked as game operators this summer. They said they found the pace of the work varied at times. Part of that was related to the weather, which they said changed too frequently in 2024.
Vicent, from Valencia, said working games made it difficult to pick up a second job, due to the time requirement of the job and the work schedule. She said she would have liked to have traveled more, but she had to work. Vicent was an economics major and plans to work as a tax inspector in Spain.
Izetova said she had traveled quite a bit, but the summer in Wildwood was the longest she has ever spent in another country. She is studying accounting and marketing in Bulgaria.
Many of the J-1 workers plan to return home following the Labor Day weekend.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
