Big news for students that plan on travelling to the US via a J1 Visa

Change is coming.

You may remember the story that we brought you a few weeks ago regarding the US governments plans on changing the structure of the J1 Visa. The main point of contention was the proposed stipulation that Irish students who planned on travelling to the US would already need to have a job in place before landing Stateside. Bad news because this stipulation has just been confirmed. Essentially this means that Irish students can no longer arrive in the US and start looking for a job once they're there. To compound matters, J1 visa holders can now also only work in the job that they have been specifically sponsored to do by their employer. This means that students cannot legally have more than one job during their trip to the US and it's possible that students could also find themselves facing travel restrictions. The new plans state that students are now required to only work in ‘official locations of their designated sponsor'. This could potentially restrict any plans to see other parts of the country. Minister for Foreign affairs and Trade Charlie Flanagan TD said "I am concerned that meeting the requirements of the new rules may prove challenging for many students and this may in turn impact on the numbers of students participating in the programme. I raised the matter with very senior members of the US Administration during my visit to the US last month and I have in recent days also written to Secretary of State Kerry outlining my concerns. “My Department and our Embassy in Washington will closely monitor the impact of these changes and will remain in close contact with the US State Department and with the relevant agencies and bodies in the coming months.” Keep your eyes peeled for further developments if you're planning on using a J1 this summer. Quotes via - UTV