USA Immigration News

E3 Visa Progress for Irish Workers

Fine Gael Clare Senator Martin Conway supports news that progress is being made in securing E3 visas for Irish nationals to work in the U.S under a free trade agreement.

According to the Irish Embassy in the U.S., Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore and Republican Senator from Massachusetts Scott Brown met in Washington DC to discuss U.S. immigration reform and the E3 visa programme. Brown 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 U.S each year.

Senator Martin Conway has showed his strong support for this progress. "This will come as an enormous relief to Irish people living in America and their families here at home. I am one of the few Irish politicians who travelled to Washington in March 2007 to the Rally on Capitol Hill organised by the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR). More than 3,000 undocumented Irish travelled from all over the United States, braving the freezing temperatures to take part in the event. A previous Bill offered huge hope to these people, but unfortunately it didn't come to pass".

"Many of the undocumented Irish live in daily fear of being deported. They have not been home to visit their loved ones in Ireland for years. They've missed out on many family occasions, even funerals. For their sake and the sake of their families, I hope that this latest attempt will succeed", he added.

Under the current rules, the E3 visa is a temporary work visa specifically for citizens of Australia with a job offer in a specialty occupation in the U.S. It allows family members to accompany the primary visa holder into the U.S. If applied in the Irish case, individuals or married couples with a job offer already secured could live and work in the U.S for two years.

If you are interested in Visas to the USA, contact Migration Expert for information and advice on which visa is best suited to you. You can also try our visa eligibility assessment to see if you are eligible to apply for a visa to the United States of America.