Eimear Shovlin
DONEGAL students looking forward to a summer abroad in the US have been forced to cancel their trips last-minute as a result of strict new J1 visa rules.
Students must have their job approved before entering America but many students are struggling to work with the Irish and American J1 companies. It could affect hundreds of other students – as well as gaelic footballers wanting to go to the USA this summer.
If they don’t have a specialist form showing they have a job before they get there – they can’t go.
And some students who HAVE filled out all the right forms still can’t go!
Local Donegal woman Eimear Shovlin from Donegal booked her J1 with the company SAYIT, who work with the American agency InterExchange.
She started her J1 process in January and only got word back recently that her job wasn’t approved by another part of the process – InterExchange.
“I wouldn’t even have minded if they had told me sooner that my job was rejected. They said that they couldn’t get in touch with my employer to approve the job but that’s not true,” she said.
“My employer filled out the necessary forms, she gave her tax and business numbers and then we were waiting to hear back about whether it was accepted or not. My employer even signed up for email notifications but didn’t hear anything back.
“Nobody rang me to let me know and it didn’t make sense because nobody had contacted my employer either.
“I’m in the position now where I’d have to fill out the application forms again with my employer and I’d have to go through the process of giving all the information again which I did in January.
“Now, I’m not going on a J1, I’m not going through the application again.”
Eimear said she paid SAYIT €290 so far, and has been getting messages to pay the remaining €400.
“I told them I wasn’t going to pay it until my job was sorted. Luckily I didn’t pay that or book my flights. I begrudge giving them any money,” she said.
Eimear said that not going on the J1 had a ‘domino effect’ on her friends.
“We had an apartment sorted and when I refused to sign the sub-lease the landlord threatened to take the lease off the other girls until they found someone else.
“There was nothing I could do,” she said. “I just don’t understand what’s going on.”
In a statement a USA embassy spokesman said they were now engaging with a number of independent US sponsors to ensure that affected Irish students who are eligible and qualified to participate in the J-1 program this year “have every opportunity to do so”.
The spokeswoman added: “All Irish J-1 SWT applicants who apply for visas between May 23 and June 17, and whose visas are approved, will be permitted to collect their passports from the U.S. Embassy in Ballsbridge within two working days after their scheduled interviews.
“Passport/visa collection will be at 2:00 p.m. and must be in person. In a small number of visa applications, additional administrative processing may be required. If that situation applies to any J-1 SWT applicant, U.S. Embassy Dublin will contact him/her immediately.”
The spokesman confirmed that they became aware of the problems earlier this week.
Since its launch in 1966 the J-1 Summer Work Travel program has welcomed 150,000 Irish young people to the United States.
The embassy spokesman said: “We remain committed to the continued success of the J-1 program.”
