New Moves To Expand Existing Visa Program For Irish American Immigrants

 New moves to expand existing visa program for Irish American immigrants

New moves to expand the existing visa program to accommodate thousands of Irish people living and working in the United States will take place at the US Congress this week. Former Irish Senator Billy Loles said on Monday that he had received confirmation from the office of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin in Illinois that he intends to bring in legislation to allow Ireland to benefit from the E3 visa program.

Former Fine Gay Minister Charlie Flanagan last month called for a reboot of the Ireland-USA Diaspora Retiring to Ireland program in 2018. The program will give American citizens between the ages of 55 and 75 the right to live and work in Ireland, who may be related to Ireland. They can also qualify for full citizenship after five years.

Surplus visas not taken under the current agreement between the US and Australia will benefit up to 5,000 people a year in such a scheme aimed at Irish graduates.

He said he would introduce the bill on a bipartisan basis, including Democrat Sen. Derbin and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. It is hoped that when Taoiseach meets US President Joe Biden, Taoiseach will be able to raise a similar case.

E3 visas are mainly aimed at third level graduates. However, individuals can qualify for the E3 visa program based on their professional experience. Reports indicate that this is not based solely on academic standards. He added that another advantage of having an E3 visa partner is that the E3 visa can be "incredibly" renewable indefinitely.

Plans were first drawn up over a decade ago to allow Ireland to take advantage of surplus visas under the overall e-program agreement reached between the US and Australia in 2005 as part of a trade deal. The U.S. House of Representatives has twice before passed proposals in this regard. However, the proposal could not be passed in the US Senate, where a senator vetoed the initiative. Under a trade agreement with the United States, Australia was offered an annual stake of about 10,500 visas. As previously suggested, Irish citizens can apply for the unused portion of this annual visa allotment. Under the proposal, U.S. citizens would be given mutual rights to reside in Ireland.

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