The last rites of passage?

The J1 visa programme is a time-honoured "rite of passage" for many generations of Irish students, but one which is at risk of dying out.

Traditionally, the simple word of mouth generated by returning students meant it was often not a question of if an undergraduate would be taking part in the J1 programme, but when they would be doing so.

But this has all changed. For example, last year the number of students applying for the programme through the USIT travel agency had fallen from 6,500 to approximately 2,800.

In the summer of 2001, before 9/11, USIT says the figure was as high as 9,000.

According to Seona Mac Réamoinn of USIT, this means it has had to redouble its efforts just to get students interested in the programme. The programme also allows for reciprocal arrangements so US students can come to work in Ireland, she points out.

"I suppose we always relied to a large extent on word of mouth," she explains. "But now we're explaining the programme to some students who don't know what a J1 is. So it has certainly got to the point where we really have to go out and sell the idea.

"These kinds of cultural programmes are very important for the relationship between Ireland and the US, particularly when patterns of immigration have changed. There is no longer any guarantee that we will always have that shared cultural link."

The decline in the number of Irish students choosing to take part in the J1 programme has raised alarm bells within the Irish Government, and is understood to be the subject of much lobbying here and among Irish-American representatives on Capitol Hill.

A sign that the US authorities here have begun to sit up and take notice came last week when the US ambassador to Ireland, James C. Kenny, intervened to help reverse the decline and spoke at two student seminars on the issue.

The move, which is unprecedented, is the clearest indication yet that the US has recognised the need to encourage Irish students to enrol on a programme which previously required little marketing here.

Sitting in the lavish surrounds of his ambassadorial residence in the Phoenix Park, Kenny explains that one of his main motivations for becoming involved in the J1 programme was his experience of talking to returning students.

"When some of these students left Ireland to go to America, they had a totally different idea about how America is perceived. Once they got there, they found out that students their age, the friends they made, listen to the same music, they have the same thoughts. They enjoyed sometimes the same type of humour, " he explains.

"But they also learned that the US wasn't just what they see on the front page of the newspapers every day. That there was more to the US than that. There was a real group of people that caring. There were real friendships that were made . . . that was a great part of the programme that I thought why we need to expand, why we need to make sure the numbers are there."

But why are Irish students slower to enrol on the J1 programme now than they were in the past? One consideration is the existence of some anti-US sentiment among students as a result of the war in Iraq, Kenny acknowledges. Interestingly, he believes the opportunities which the J1 programme offers can help to widen students' horizons beyond this one issue.

"I don't want these young people to feel that the Iraq war is the only subject we can talk about in America," he says. "What I say to that is don't just form your opinion over one issue. Come and form your opinion about America over many issues . . . America and Ireland, our relationship is so long. Sometimes there is going to be a bump in the road in this long relationship. But we will get over it."

He also believes other factors have contributed to the decrease in applications for the programme.

These include the increased popularity of other countries within the newly enlarged EU, as well as others such as Australia, and the strong economy here, which means many students can easily find summer jobs at home.

When coupled with the strengthening of the euro against the dollar, this means many are aware that they may not be able to earn enough money to meet the significant costs associated with taking part in the scheme.

So instead of slogging it out in the US and risking coming back in debt, they choose to save money over the summer and go to the US on a holiday visa.

But there are also other considerations. Arguably chief among these is the raft of restrictions that the US authorities have established in the post-9/11 world.

Under the J1 programme, Irish students can work and live legally in the US for a maximum of four months over the summer.

For the first time last year, however, any student looking to participate in the programme was required to attend an interview at the US embassy in Dublin.

This means hard-pressed students, particularly from outside Dublin, can be faced with significant additional travel expenses to attend the five-minute interview.

Participants also face mandatory fingerprinting at airports, and must agree to register with the US authorities so that they can be tracked while in the country.

A restriction on final-year students who are not returning to full-time study, is also seen by USIT as having had a real impact on participation rates.

For his part, however, Kenny - who was appointed by President Bush - is adamant that the new restrictions will have to remain in place, given the changed world the 9/11 attacks brought about.

But working within this new framework, he believes the US can do more to get the message out to Irish students that, despite the new restrictions, his country is still a great place to live and work for the summer.

"The US State Department is very much aware of this, up to the secretary and even up to the president. are aware that it is important to have America be open and welcoming to young people to come and experience what we're about. That is very important," he says.

"I would hope that in the future we continue to work on this whole principle of getting the younger Irish generation engaged with America . . . I hope we can get through all that and make it easier and more welcoming for people to come experience. Because I'm telling you it is a hugely important issue for us in America to be that way."