Demand for J1 visas to work in US remains high despite concerns about Trump border controls
Trump administration's
new hardline immigration policies.
In April, the
Union of Students in Ireland (USI)
urged caution
for those who would be travelling to the US on J1 visas this summer.
Following the US administration's decision last month to begin screening the social media accounts of immigrants, visa applicants and foreign students for what it has called 'anti-Semitic activity', the union said it was important that those travelling 'fully understand' the possible consequences for their visa status, including the risk of deportation.
USI president Chris Clifford said students have 'safety concerns' about the current situation in the US.
READ MORE
'There's always concern but it has increased significantly this year. There has been more [concern] this year, more conversations around it, with the student unions and USI ... they [students] have concerns about arriving, having their phone searched, being detained or being deported,' he said.
Ellen Clusker, a final-year UCD English and history student from Dublin, will travel to Maine in three weeks where she has secured work at a summer camp.
'I never debated not going but I have worries,' said Ms Clusker, who has been hearing recently how people 'going over are having their phone searched'.
'It's quite invasive but I'm not sure how true those concerns are ... I only have Instagram and it's private. Some friends have deleted Twitter [X] or some tweets that they are worried about, but I personally won't be.
'Even some friends are saying: 'Oh have you seen this?' and I'm like: 'Stop panicking me,'' she said.
While her father has been 'encouraging', Ms Clusker says her mother is worried about her upcoming travel plans – 'she keeps sending me news articles.'
Other students chose not to give their real names, feeling it may jeopardise any future plans to visit the US.
One such student from Munster Technological University in Cork, Sarah* (21), and two friends have decided to forgo their J1 plans this summer amid growing safety concerns.
'We all started the application process and we all paid just under €1,000, but with everything that happened with tariffs, seeing stories of ICE [the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] taking people into custody and also people being denied entry, it made us a bit nervous," she said.
'So we said we wouldn't go ahead with it. It's a real shame and we're all really disappointed but it just isn't safe.'
For Sarah, the decision is 'about freedom of speech ... we wouldn't want to go and feel like we couldn't post something on our Instagram story that wouldn't align with Trump's ideals'.
'If that was taken and used against me and there was a mark on my record that I was denied entry or if I was deported, that would ruin any chance of going to the States again.'
Laura*, a second-year Irish and translation student from University of Galway, is getting ready to travel to Ohio this week where she will work as a camp instructor for three months.
This will be Laura's first visit to the States – 'I have always wanted to go to America' – and she is feeling uneasy after reading recent news stories and USI's statement last month.
'By the time that came out, I felt I was already too far in with the application process. I do worry, hearing all the stories of protests being shut down in the US.'
Laura has been involved in student activism but doesn't 'plan on doing that in the States because it's too risky'.
Offering advice to those who may be feeling concerned in advance of travelling to the US, Clifford said students should 'proceed with caution' when it comes to what they post online.
'The digital footprint goes a long way,' he said.
'Keep communicating with your family, tell them where you are and what you are doing, that's big ... Keep informed and most importantly prioritise the safety of you and your friends if you are travelling together.'
Work-abroad organisation Usit said there were just over 5,500 J1 visas issued last year, with numbers for 2025 expected to be similar.
Although figures have not yet been released for this year, Sheelagh Daly, director of sales in Ireland with the Council on International Educational Exchange said it had not seen any decline in demand for this summer's working visas.
Figures provided by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State, which oversees the J1 programme, show 3,722 students travelled from Ireland to the US in 2024. Similar uptake was seen in 2023, when 3,673 travelled, and 2022 when 3,660 participants were recorded.
These figures represent the amount of BridgeUSA J1 Summer Work and Travel programme participants, not including participants in the US Summer Camp or Internship programmes.
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