ANNOUNCEMENTS

VISA PROCESS CHANGES!!!

Please note that the Visa application procedure has been changed as of 2010, March 1! There will be no longer DS156, 157, 158 forms used, all applicants must use the ONLINE DS160 form! For more details about this and other changes, please read our updated visa instructions!)

All placed camp participants should start applying for the visas as soon as possible:

All WEUSA (Independent and Placement) participants should also start the application:

THE CCUSA OFFICE IN BUDAPEST WILL SEND YOU AN EMAIL NOTIFICATION, WHEN YOUR DS FORM HAS ARRIVED FROM OUR US OFFICE. PLEASE DO NOT BRING IN YOUR APPLICATION (AND YOUR PASSPORT), BEFORE GETTING THIS EMAIL FROM US.

Please note the DS160 has technical difficulties. If you can't fill it out now, you can work with the rest of the paperwork, and try again in a few days.

3 March 2010

Congratulation to the 109 placed first timer participants who got placed in one of the 22 camps at the CampFair at WestEnd Hilton (March 2, 2010). We were happy to see that mostly those got placed who have applied early!

If you were not lucky or you could not attend the fair, do NOT worry: we have over 900 other camps in the US, and our US office have started searching a camp for you!

Click here – if you want to read an article about the CampFair !

3 March 2010

Approaching Application Deadlines for ALL CCUSA programs this year.

Just a reminder, the Camp Counselors USA Program is now officially closed, since we can NOT process any more applications until the Camp Fair.

Deadline for Camp Canada Program (both support staff and counselor categories) : Wednesday, 31 March 2010

Deadline for Work Experience USA (Placement Option) : Wednesday, 31 March 2010

If you have applied for any of these program recently, but did not get an email confirmation, please call our office number 06-1-2447941

24 Febr 2010

Deadlines for the 2010 camp program!!

We are closing down the camp application soon. If you have not applied yet, HURRY, or you will miss out!!

All last minute (first timer) camp applicants
- must complete an application form on www.ccusa.com by 22 Febr, Monday (or earlier)
- must complete an interview and pay at least 100 euro application fee by 24 Febr, Wednesday (or earlier)
- must bring/send all paperwork* to the Budapest office by 25 Febr, Thursday  (or earlier)
- must pay the rest of the fee (395 euro) by 1 March, Monday preferably by bank transfer or online- payment proof must be sent to the Budapest office by email or fax.

* If you don't have a valid passport at the moment, you can still apply, but please apply for a new one as soon as possible.

Every non-placed, first timer camp applicant is invited to the Campfair, on 2 March at the WestEnd Hilton - and we encourage everyone to come (see more info about the fair on this website).

If you already know you can NOT come to the fair in Budapest (because you will be abroad, you can't miss this Tuesday from school or you don't want to travel to Budapest on this day), please email us!

If you have any questions, please contact the Area Representatives in your school (check their contact info on this site), who can help with any part of this process -  if you don't have any Area Rep in your school,  call our Budapest office 06-1-2447941

17 Febr 2010

Hello from the Budapest Office of CCUSA!

Thanks for your interest for the Camp Counselors USA or the Work Experience USA program and we hope you can join us for 2010.

If you are interested in applying, we recommend that you do the first steps now: Go to www.ccusa.com , choose Hungary, then click on "Apply" and complete your application in the next few days!

If you are a first timer and you would like to work in a US summer camp next year, you should:
- complete your online application (takes about 15-20 minutes)
- have your interview and pay the CCUSA application and program fee
- provide all the paperwork required  - it may take about a week, (so don't wait until the last minute!)

Follow these easy steps, and you will be placed in a US summer camp sooner than others!
Remember, CCUSA provides a FREE flight ticket (between Budapest - NYC, no hidden cost!), 3 months insurance , a huge CAMP FAIR (on 2 March, 2010) with 30-40 camp directors and much more!

Are you more interested in working in the tourism industry, and being a staff member in a restaurant, hotel, casino, amusement park or national park? Choose the Work Experience Program and choose either the Placement Option or the Independent option! (Student conditions are the same as for the Support Staff on the Camp program)

If you have any questions, please contact your local Area Representative in your school or call our main office 1-2447941 in Budapest. Hope to see your application soon!

The CCUSA Hungary Team

2009. 10. 20.

To all 2009 participants: reminder about sending in boarding pass + evaluation on Footprints

Hello from the CCUSA Budapest office!

I know some of you are still enjoying your traveling in the States, before heading to the good old JFK and catching your flight home!


1. PLEASE REMEMBER to save and bring home the BOARDING PASS (your flight ticket stub from NYC)! ! We are collecting them in the office, we will need it, so we can prove the US Embassy - that you came home in time.
So go ahead send it to us - first please WRITE YOUR ID#, "HU0...." ON IT NEXT TO YOUR NAME, THEN EITHER:
a) mail it by Magyar Posta Magyar Posta to our address: "CCUSA Hungary kft, Rakoczi ut 8/B, 3rd floor , door 8 , BUDAPEST, 1072"
b) or fax it to 06-1-244794
c) or you can scan/email it to info@ccusa.hu.
d) If it is easier, you can bring it to the Budapest office personally (please call for an appointment, we are still not opened with regular office hours until the beginning of October)

2. We also want to know how your summer went! Please give us 5 minutes from your time and fill out our feedback survey! Log into your Footprint account with your username and password (camp participants choose Camp Counselors US - 2009 / work participants choose Work Experience USA - 2009 Summer) and scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the "... Evaluation" (in the yellow section). Your feedback will help us to improve our program for next year, THANKS!

Have fun during your travels, buy lots of jeans, chocolates and laptops

.... or bring home some $ (it is around 180-185 HUF) and see you in the Fall!

HAVE A SAFE TRIP HOME!!!

Miklos and the CCUSA Team Hungary

2009.09.23.


Dear Participants,

The CCUSA Tax Service has moved to Sausalito (to the CCUSA main office). The official Tax Service address will therefore be:

CCUSA Tax Service

2330 Marinship Way, Suite 250

Sausalito, CA 94965

USA

The phone numbers will stay the same (they are forwarded to our US office) and you can still use the Tax@ccusa.com email address for emails.

2009.06.24.

Official CCUSA Statement about swine flu as of 29 April 2009

Dear 2009 Camp and WEUSA participants,

We have uploaded all the insurance documentations of the Camp and Work programs for the summer of 2009. Your can download them from our Support page and also from your Footprints page.

Please note that in 2009 insurance coverage is provided by IHI (and not AVI like in 2008).


2009. 04. 20.

The CCUSA Tax Back Service –

If you worked in the United States and had any taxes withheld from
your salary / pocket money, you must file a US tax return if you want
a refund.

If you have earned more than $3400, you are required to file a US tax
return regardless of the refund. While signing up for the CCUSA Tax
Service is optional, the IRS requirement isn't.

The CCUSA Tax Back Service does charge a fee for this service.
However, you only pay this fee (from $35 to $75 maximum - the least
expensive of any competing tax service) if we get results – we only get
paid if you do!

We frequently receive emails and calls from participants who have in
fact, completed their own tax returns. The following is a sampling of the
kinds of problems they encounter. They have: 
 
· filed the wrong form (usually a resident's form) 
· filed the wrong form and filed it electronically which they are not
permitted to do
· filled out a short form instead of a long form (if they've earned enough)
and now owe money to the IRS
· filled out the form incorrectly regardless of which form it was
· submitted more than one tax return per tax year (they often are
missing W2 forms when they file the first; when the subsequent W2's show
up, they just file another tax return (not an amended return but another
normal tax return)
· received letters from the IRS asking for clarification of their
SS numbers/names (granted, we get these letters too but we,
unlike our participants, know how to respond)


In these cases the IRS has held up the refund and sent them threatening
letters. It's so easy for you to make the mistakes above, but so
complicated to make them go away.
 
Most WEUSA participants earn enough so that they must file a long form.
Even accountants with a graduate degree find it a daunting task to itemize
deductions on the 2106EZ form correctly ...in Hungarian or any other
language. So why stress over all these problems? Let CCUSA do your
taxes for you!

Some stats from the 2007 tax season. The median amounts are also
included to underscore that there were as many above that number as
there were below.

· Average refund for HU: $536. Average refund for ALL countries: $421
· Median refund for HU: $506. Median refund for ALL countries: $373

· Average income for HU: $3773. Average income for ALL countries: $3370
· Median income for HU: $3886. Median income for ALL countries: $3174

· Average taxes withheld for HU: $437. Average taxes w/held for ALL
countries: $380
· Median taxes withheld for HU: $412. Median taxes w/held for ALL
countries: $296

· Highest Income for HU: $7625. Highest income for ALL countries: $41,000
· Lowest Income for HU: $147. Lowest income for ALL countries: $10


You can download the application forms from the www.CCUSA.hu website
in the Support Section, or directly from these links:

Tax Service Introduction

Tax Service Enrollment Package

In January and February of 2009, you will receive your W-2 Forms from the companies you worked for. You must send these to the Tax Service also, so they can complete your tax returns.

The official deadline for filing your returns is April 15th, 2009 – but the earlier you send in your returns the faster you will get your money.

If you have any other questions, or problems filling out the Tax Back Application, pleae contact Mike at the Budapest office at the following e-mail: mikem@ccusa.hu

 

CCUSA wants to know what you plan to do about YOUR tax returns. Please send us back the answer (by email) as soon as possible:

CCUSA ID #: HU0____________

1) I will use the CCUSA Tax Back Service. I am sending my signed contract shortly.

2) I will file the tax returns on my own (not recommended)

3) I earned less than $3400 and did not have any taxes taken from my salary.

Thanks – we hope to hear from you soon!


The CCUSA Hungary Team

2008.09.30.