fail in the visa world.
https://www.nyujll.com/volume-12/blog-post-title-four-9shdf-gytxr-zg887-xh48y-7e77n-rl53b-kmme3-w2ese-y34rx-4ga79-3p7dk
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, long before WDW engaged in politically charged culture wars, they were seeking a solution for staffing international pavilions at EPCOT, specifically with citizens from the individual pavilions' countries. Following congressional concerns with the existing J-visa programs, Disney proposed and lobbied successfully for a new Q visa for their cultural ambassadors at EPCOT and other places throughout WDW. This program allowed individuals entry for up to 15 months. Disney typically trained them for several months, including through Disney University, and then rotated them into park service for a year, followed by a final month of independent travel in the US.
We essentially "adopted" one of these young cast members who was from New Zealand. She hadn't brought any clothes needed during our cooler winter months. Our currency was also confusing her. A friend of a friend on social media reached out to us for help. My wife took her shopping on several occasions and raided our daughter's closet for appropriate clothes. Most of these low-level cast members don't have cars and rely on WDW buses. They don't make huge salaries and pay rent for apartments in company-owned complexes that are out of sight to the typical Disney guest. We have fond memories of our time with her.
On the darker side, WDW replaced 250 of its IT staff in late 2014 and early 2015, replacing them with H-1B visa holders from India. Disney offered severance packages only if the US employee remained for 90 days in order to train their replacements. Not the Disney that we had grown to know. If there had been a significant charge for each H-1B worker, it's intuitive that WDW would have kept its US workers.
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