J-1 Students Arrive in New York

Irish Voice News

J-1 Students Arrive in New York

June 7, 2007

By April Drew

SUMMER has arrived and so have thousands of Irish students seeking jobs and accommodation all over the states including New York and New Jersey.

Like several years in the past, the Irish students arriving at Kennedy Airport, varying in ages between 18-22, flock to fill several seasonal jobs on the Long Island and the Jersey Shore, and others settle in Irish areas in the suburbs.

Although there had been a slump in the number of Irish students coming to the United States since September 11, the numbers are back up again. According to marketing manager Lisa O’ Regan of USIT, an Irish student travel agency which liaises with the American Embassy to get the visas, the numbers of people who applied this year for a J-1 visa (student working/traveling visa) is up from last year, but she did mention that more people are applying to more exotic locations rather than traditional hot spots like New York and Boston.

“We have seen a huge rise in the number of people applying to go Hawaii this year than previous years,” she said. O’Regan was not, however, prepared to give an exact number of how many students are out this year.

Explaining that USIT has been working tirelessly with the American Embassy to get students to the United States for the summer (last year the U.S. ambassador went around Irish colleges, encouraging more students to travel) she said, “We are delighted that the numbers are strong this year and several Irish students are heading to the states for the summer.”

The J-1 visa allows a student, who is currently mid third level education or has completed their degree program and has a job offer in Ireland, to live and work legally in any part of the U.S. for a four month period and then gives them one month’s grace in which they can travel wherever they chose within the states.

O’ Regan said that more students are interested in trying out the west coast of the U.S., but USIT were strongly encouraging them otherwise. “There are several more opportunities on the East Coast in seasonal jobs and not as many in places like San Francisco and California, so we have been advising students on making the East Coast their choice,” she said. “They’ll have a better summer too.”

Canada is also becoming a popular destination for students, according to USIT. With the visa costing less than *1,000 (USIT took *300 off the program this year) slightly more female students applied than their male friends. “It’s about 55/45 to the women,” said O’Regan.

While most students chose the U.S. as the destination for their summer working holiday, several other students go inter-railing across Europe and some even go to Thailand for a month.

According to static’s released by USIT, 21% of students spent their summer last year in Massachusetts, 19% in New York, 29% in California and 31% in other parts of the U.S.

Statistics also revealed that 39% of students worked in the restaurant business, 19% in retail, 8% in theme parks and 33% in other jobs. Only 2% got jobs in the professional industry.

Carla Collins, who came on a J-1 visa from Cork University last year to New York, said her time here was brilliant.

“It took me about a week to secure a job but I was laughing after that. I saved up about $4,000 while working in a restaurant in the Bronx and then spent the last two weeks of my visa traveling around the U.S. and I still had money left over going back to college in October,” said Collins, who just finished her degree in psychology.

Gemma O’Connor, who spent last summer in Montauk on Long Island, said it was most definitely a wonderful summer, but if she had the chance to do it again she would live in Manhattan and work for some big corporation.

“I had a really great summer in Montauk, the fun we had, we were out every night after work and spent our days off topping up on our tans at the beaches,” she said.

“But if I was coming again I would most definitely like to try the more serious route and get a job for some big American company and live in Manhattan,” said O’Connor, explaining that she was taken in by the bright lights of the city while visiting it for a few days last summer.

Share this story: digg this | Add to del.icio.us

Print Save Discussions

Discuss

Email a friend