THE J1 trip is a rite of passage for many young Irish people, but those days could soon be coming to an end following a crackdown by Donald Trump.
More than 5,500 of the summer US working passes were issued to Irish students last year.
But the Trump administration’s decision last month to begin screening social media accounts of immigrants, visa applicants and foreign students for what it has called “anti-Semitic activity” has caused concern.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) said it was important that those travelling ‘fully understand’ the possible consequences for their visa status – including the risk of deportation.
Today, school teacher and former Chicago J1 adventurer, Deirdre Barry, 29, from Mayo, says Trump’s move could bring an end to a major milestone for university students.
JUST last month, the US President Donald Trump announced a freeze on new appointments for student and visitor visas, along with the expansion of social media vetting by the State Department.
If you are one of the estimated 5,000 Irish students who have either attended your embassy interview, or should you have an interview scheduled, it’s unlikely these sanctions will impact you.
But given the magnitude of the social media coverage that the ongoing conflict in Gaza is receiving, it appears as though the screening process will have widespread implications, and reduce the number of those hoping to embark on what was once a rite of passage of the university student.
My own experience of the J1 visa, is one of mixed emotions; mainly those that accompany intense poverty and hunger.
I spent 10 weeks sleeping on a crate, in the living room of a “house” shared with 11 others.
One shower, between 12. One set of cutlery, shared between 12. One fridge (which was largely empty aside from the infamous “Four Loko” drink,) shared between 12. One plastic bowl, shared between 12.
Due to the timing of our university exams, my friends and I arrived at our destination of choice, Chicago, almost three weeks after many of our fellow J1-ers.
‘MAJOR FOMO’
This time penalty resulted in delayed training days, and subsequently, banking a sum total of zero US dollars during the first three weeks of what was supposed to be the “American Dream”.
During the initial unemployment period, I resorted to offering my non-existent cleaning services to our landlord, who needed a property of his sanitised, in the wake of a stag party. What’s that you say about the American Dream, Deirdre?
So what will they miss out on? Well, anybody who has an older sibling, relative, or friend that has spent a summer across the pond, will certainly be grappling with major FOMO.
However, what sets the current generation of college goers apart from their predecessors is that we live in an era where young people are more “woke” than ever, often putting their own agendas aside for the greater good.
There seems to be an understanding among college students, that the concept of global citizenship and the importance of our contribution — despite it feeling like a drop in the ocean, for the most part — trumps (excuse the pun) all.
Are the current visa restrictions merely strengthening a world that is campaigning for a disconnect from the “land of the free?”
There is a tangible shift in perception of what was once the enviable big brother of all nations. We wanted their brands. Their bright lights. Their up-scaled everything.
ADULT DECISIONS
However, the world as we know it is changing at an unprecedented pace, as we wake up to news and realities that feel unnervingly like an episode of Black Mirror.
The J1 was tumultuous. It was rewarding. It was chaotic. It was ridiculous. It was stressful. It was an education.
Even though I had moved to Dublin in pursuit of a teaching degree, at least I was in the same time zone as my exasperated parents, who were often called upon when difficulty presented itself — usually financial, after a strenuous week of spending on, ahem, course related materials.
It was the first time where I felt as though I was truly fending for myself — paying my own rent, sourcing my own meals, and generally making decisions of an adult nature in a city that I knew very little about.
I have lived and worked in many countries since my J1 summer of 2017, but that was my first experience living in a new country instead of holidaying in a new country — two very different things.
Living implies work. Work implies various adult tasks, such as sourcing a social security number, negotiating more hours if you’re not making ends meet, and making sure that you’re spending according to what you have (eight years on, and I still haven’t mastered this one).
‘ICONIC BAPTISM OF FIRE’
Having spent all my years until that point within the safe and familiar confines of education and summer jobs within the locality, the J1 was a wake-up call to the unpredictability of life, and an introduction to the phrase “sink or swim”.
It taught me resilience and provided the impetus for the many adventures I would embark on, following that seminal summer in Chicago.
Should this turn out to be an obituary to the J1 summer, I feel for those who will be denied the right to the iconic baptism of fire, regarding the realm of living and working abroad.
I mean to say, where else will the current twenty-somethings learn that a toilet in a two-bedroomed apartment certainly isn’t built to cater for 12?
