A group of some 150 students who booked J1 programmes through Travel Bug Ltd have been told they will not get a visa in time for the summer, customers have said.
It came to light earlier this week that about 150 students who had paid either the full programme fee of €799 or a deposit of €99 to the company were not guaranteed to receive a DS2019 form, which is required for working in the United States, due to a processing issue.
Travel Bug laid the blame with sponsor company American Work Adventures, which liaises with the US State Department to secure the work permits, and informed affected customers it would try to resolve the issues.
However in a statement the US Embassy in Dublin said it is “aware of the issues in procesing applications” for students who applied with Travel Bug and American Work Adventures.
“We are engaging with a number of independent US sponsors to ensure that affected Irish students who are eligible and qualified to participate in the J-1 program this year have every opportunity to do so.”
It came after the company called customers on Friday to say it would not be possible to process their DS2019 forms on time.
Prospective J1 travellers must present the documentation at an interview held in the US embassy in Dublin, which is responsible for granting visas for programme applicants.
On Wednesday, Travel Bug revealed 57 people in the affected group had paid the full programme fee, and a further 100 had given deposits.
One person who was told he will not receive a DS2019 was Tomás O’Donovan, who says the company promised to repay everything but the €99 deposit.
Mr O'Donovan says he is now out of pocket to the tune of €1,000, having already paid for plane tickets and accommodation in Rhode Island, where he had a job lined up for the summer.
"A certain few people seem to have gotten those DS2019 forms and anyone who didn't can't get a visa. Just from talking to people it seems to be the case that a lot more people haven't gotten them than have," he told The Irish Times.
“There wasn’t really an explanation, they said they tried everything they could... It’s disappointing but I suppose I’ve been prepared for it for the last week, the way things have been going - I knew it was a possibility,” he added.
He now plans to stay in Ireland and work for the summer, and said it would not be worth his while waiting five weeks for a different sponsor company to process a new work permit request.
Travel Bug has not responded at time of writing to a request for comment from The Irish Times.
