THE IRISH EMBASSY in America has said that Eamon Gilmore and Senator Scott Brown are hopeful that “early progress” will be made in securing E3 US work visas for Irish nationals.
The pair met in Washington DC yesterday to discuss immigration reform and the E3 visa programme. Brown, a Republican Senator from Massachusetts, has been a supporter of a version of the bill which would see 10,500 Irish workers granted renewable visas to live and work in the US.
The E3 visa is currently available to Australian citizens and allows family members to accompany the primary visa holder into the US. If applied in the Irish case, individuals or married couples could live and work in the US for two years, as long as they arrive in the country with a job offer already secured.
The documents would also be renewable indefinitely.
Crucially, under Senator Chuck Schumer’s proposed legislation (as distinct from Senator Brown’s), applications would be open to undocumented Irish migrants who are already living in the United States, without those applicants incurring the usual penalties for their illegal residency.
That legislation has been stalled at the Senate stage by Charles Grassley. The Republican Senator has signalled his discomfort with the bill because of the impact it could have on “future immigration flows”.
He said he is concerned that it “does nothing to protect Americans at home” seeking high-skilled jobs at a time of high unemployment.
Other senators – including Brown – have presented alternative legislation which would allow visas for Irish people except those who are currently undocumented in America.
Brown’s tabled bill omits the ‘administrative waiver’ provisions which would allow undocumented Irish migrants in the US to apply for E3s without suffering certain applicable penalties for having been out of status.
Bi-partisan support not guaranteed
Previously, the Tánaiste has said that addressing the situation of the undocumented Irish in America and reforming migration arrangements with the US are priorities for the Government.
However, he noted that because of the current political climate in the US, as well as it being a presidential election year, bi-partisan support is not guaranteed for the proposed billS.
Meanwhile, Gilmore joins the Taoiseach and Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton for a roundtable discussion on investing in Ireland hosted by former US president Bill Clinton.
Some 100 people from the Global Irish Network and other “influential friends of Ireland” will participate in the forum, according to Enda Kenny’s office.
Clinton will address the delegates at New York University before the discussions begin.
Speaking prior to the event, Kenny said, “[We] will meet with a number of senior US executives who do not yet have substantive business interests here. This is a unique opportunity to engage with the highest levels of the international business world – to promote Ireland as an investment destination, and is yet another manifestation of how to achieve the mission of the global Irish making a difference together.”
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