The Cross Cultural Internship Program (CCIP) has entered the next phase of preparation for its 2015 summer program in New York City. After undergoing a competitive and involved application process, newly accepted students of the program have been given the green light to begin the visa application process.

"There was a lot of commitment and hard work involved in just applying to the program itself, so I want to make sure that my application for the visa goes smoothly by proceeding properly," said Clarissa Eyu, a first year Communications and New Media student at National University of Singapore (NUS). "I don't want to lose my opportunity to participate in CCIP and gain an American internship experience when I've made it this far in the process."

To better prepare students for submitting a visa application and attending the visa interview, CCIP has provided a preparatory packet covering the visa application process in detail, including advice for the interview.

While this weekend and the coming week will be a busy time for students, Michael Cheung, a second year Economics and Finance student at the University of Hong Kong, has already obtained his visa with the program's support because he is currently attending an academic exchange in Australia.

"I think the most important thing is to be organized, review the preparation materials and your documents thoroughly, and go over practice interview questions ahead of time," said Cheung. "The CCIP application process was a good learning experience about all this, so I think most students will do well in the visa application."

Beginning May until August, CCIP 2015 participants will travel to NYC from Asia in order to engage in cross-cultural activities and develop professional experience at a range of small- and medium-sized host organizations.

Sky Han, a second year Accounting and Finance student at the University of Hong Kong, recently returned to her hometown from a trip to Thailand and is now feeling the need to catch up. She said, "I'm a bit behind the other students in my visa application process, but I'm eager to get started. I don't mind the process as much since I have an exciting summer with other CCIP students to look forward to."