Mr. Ronnie Millar:

The US Department of State changed the rules regarding the eligibility for the J1 12-month visa. As the Chairman rightly said, the 12-month eligibility period began when the student took the last course. It was, therefore, the end of the course, and not graduation, when the clock would start ticking. This was relaxed pre Covid-19. There is now greater flexibility on the 12-month eligibility period. Certainly, for a couple of years, that caused many issues. It reduced the window through which Irish graduates could apply for the programme. We hope that moving forward it will be the full 12 months after graduation.