Privacy Notice (KVKK): how we protect your personal data

This KVKK Privacy Notice has been prepared by Bridge USA Türkiye, acting as data controller, in accordance with Article 10 of Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data ("KVKK") and the Communiqué on the Procedures and Principles to Be Followed in Fulfilling the Obligation to Inform.

• Legal name: [Company legal name]
• MERSİS No. (Central Registry System number): [MERSİS number]
• Address: Geriş Mah. Dalyan Cd. No:3/10, 48400 Yalıkavak, Bodrum / Muğla, Türkiye
• Email: [email protected]
• KEP address (registered electronic mail): [KEP address]

This Notice covers visitors to our website, people who fill in our forms, program applicants who use our consultancy services and, where applicants are under 18, their parents or legal guardians.

Depending on the nature of the service, personal data in the following categories may be processed. We only ask for the data needed for the relevant purpose.

• Identity: full name, date of birth, Turkish national ID number (T.C. Kimlik No.), passport details, nationality.
• Contact: phone number, email address, postal address.
• Education and professional information: school, department, year of study, student certificate, transcript, diploma, CV, work experience, English level and test results, references.
• Visual and audio data: passport-style photo; an introduction video if the sponsor requests one.
• Program and visa process information: the program you are interested in, placement details, DS-2019, SEVIS and DS-160 information, visa appointment and outcome, travel history, and the social media usernames to be declared on the DS-160.
• Financial information: payment and invoicing details, documents showing how program costs will be covered.
• Family information: parent or guardian details for the high school program; details of family members who will accompany the participant in J-2 status.
• Customer transaction and marketing information: requests, meeting notes, application status, preferences regarding commercial electronic messages.
• Transaction security: a hashed (one-way encrypted) form of your IP address, browser information, the time a form was submitted and the page it was submitted from.
• Special categories of personal data: only where the program requires it and at the sponsor's request, health information (e.g. a health declaration form or vaccination records) and criminal record information.

• Responding to your requests for information, callbacks and initial assessments;
• Establishing and performing the consultancy agreement and identifying the J-1 program that suits you;
• Preparing your application to the sponsor organization and carrying out placement processes (employer, host company, camp, school and host family, host institution);
• Visa application preparation, interview practice and pre-departure orientation;
• Communication, support and emergency management during the program;
• Carrying out finance, accounting and invoicing operations;
• Fulfilling legal obligations and responding to requests from competent authorities;
• Managing requests and complaints and improving service quality;
• Ensuring the security of the website and information systems and preventing misuse;
• With your consent, sending commercial electronic messages such as program announcements and application reminders.

Your personal data is processed on the following legal grounds set out in Article 5(2) of the KVKK:

• It is expressly provided for by law (Art. 5(2)(a));
• It is directly related to the establishment or performance of a contract (Art. 5(2)(c));
• It is necessary for the data controller to fulfill its legal obligations (Art. 5(2)(ç));
• It is necessary for the establishment, exercise or protection of a right (Art. 5(2)(e));
• It is necessary for the legitimate interests of the data controller, provided that this does not harm your fundamental rights and freedoms (Art. 5(2)(f)).

Where none of these grounds applies, for example when sending commercial electronic messages or making occasional transfers abroad, we ask for your explicit consent. Special categories of personal data, such as health information and criminal records, are processed under Article 6 of the KVKK on the basis of your explicit consent or one of the other conditions listed in the Law.

Your personal data is collected by partly automated and non-automated means through the application, callback and newsletter forms on our website; phone, email and WhatsApp conversations; meetings held at our office or online; the consultancy agreement and application forms; and the application platforms of sponsor organizations. For information about the cookies and similar technologies used on the site, please see our Privacy and Cookie Policy.

Transfers within Türkiye

Limited to the purposes above, your personal data may be transferred to the IT, hosting and email providers we use, to our accounting and legal advisors, to banks and, upon request, to authorized public institutions and organizations.

Transfers abroad

Because J-1 programs take place in the United States, your data must be shared with the relevant parties in the U.S. for your application to proceed. In this context, your data may be transferred to sponsor organizations designated by the U.S. Department of State and, through them, to the employer, host company, camp, school, host family or institution that will host your program, as well as to our service providers whose servers are located abroad.

Transfers abroad are carried out in accordance with the procedures set out in Article 9 of the KVKK: where the Personal Data Protection Board has issued an adequacy decision for the destination country; where one of the appropriate safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses, is in place; or, for occasional transfers, where you have given explicit consent after being informed of the possible risks, or where the transfer is necessary for the performance of the contract concluded with you. For transfers to the sponsor organization in the U.S., your explicit consent is also obtained separately when you enroll in a program.

In steps such as the DS-160 visa application form and the SEVIS payment, you submit your information directly to the systems of the U.S. authorities yourself.

Your personal data is kept for as long as the purpose of processing requires and for the periods set out in the applicable legislation; at the end of that period, it is deleted, destroyed or anonymized.

• Information and callback requests that do not turn into an application: 2 years from the date of last contact;
• Consultancy agreement and program application file: 10 years from the end of the agreement;
• Invoices and accounting records: for the period required by the Turkish Commercial Code and tax legislation;
• Consent records for commercial electronic messages: 3 years from the date the consent ceases to be valid;
• Transaction security records: 2 years.

By applying to the data controller, you have the right to:

• Learn whether your personal data is being processed;
• Request information about the processing if it has been processed;
• Learn the purpose of processing and whether the data is used in line with that purpose;
• Know the third parties, in Türkiye or abroad, to whom your data has been transferred;
• Request correction if your data has been processed incompletely or inaccurately;
• Request deletion or destruction of your data under the conditions set out in Article 7 of the KVKK;
• Request that any correction, deletion or destruction be notified to the third parties to whom your data has been transferred;
• Object to an outcome against you that arises from the analysis of your data exclusively through automated systems;
• Claim compensation if you suffer damage as a result of unlawful processing.

You may withdraw your consent for any processing based on explicit consent at any time, and you can opt out of commercial electronic messages using the opt-out option included in every message.

In accordance with the Communiqué on the Procedures and Principles of Application to the Data Controller, you can submit requests concerning your rights under Article 11 of the KVKK by one of the following methods:

• By a petition bearing your handwritten signature, delivered in person or through a notary public, to: Geriş Mah. Dalyan Cd. No:3/10, 48400 Yalıkavak, Bodrum / Muğla;
• From your registered electronic mail (KEP) address to [KEP address];
• Signed with a secure electronic signature or mobile signature, to [email protected];
• From the email address you have previously provided to us and that is registered in our system, to [email protected].

Your request must include your full name; your signature, for written requests; your Turkish ID number (for foreign nationals, your nationality and passport or ID number); your residential or business address for notifications; your email address for notifications, if any; your phone number; and the subject of your request.

Depending on its nature, your request will be concluded free of charge as soon as possible and within 30 days at the latest; if the process involves an additional cost, the fee schedule set by the Personal Data Protection Board may apply. If your request is rejected, if you find our response insufficient or if we do not respond in time, you may file a complaint with the Board under Article 14 of the KVKK.

This Notice was last updated on September 24, 2026. Any changes will be published on this page.