J1 applications up, but numbers remain low

His work is paying off, but only to a degree. Through the end of March, 2,990 visa applications were being processed, compared with 1,414 through the same period in 2004, representing an increase of about 20 percent. But though that number is encouraging, it remains far below traditional J1 figures.
In all, Ireland’s biggest student travel agency, USIT, issued 2,800 J1 visas in 2004, compared with 5,200 in 2003 and 9,200 in 2000. Seona MacR