Ireland and US work visa deal unlikely

July 13 2009 by Mark Johnstone

Michael Martin, Ireland's Foreign Affairs Minister

Ireland's hopes of striking a reciprocal long-term work visa deal with the US are becoming increasingly unrealistic according to its Foreign Affairs Minister, Michael Martin.

Martin has been seeking a bilateral arrangement that would see Irish workers granted E3 US work visas that would allow them to work in the US long-term. Under the plan, Ireland would then offer the same opportunities to US workers. It was hoped that embarking on such an agreement would reduce the number of unregistered migrants from Ireland moving to the US.

However, it seems that the arrangement is unlikely to go ahead. Martin explained, “while the inclusion of Ireland in an expanded version of the E3 programme would provide extensive new opportunities for Irish people to work in the US and help ensure that a new generation of undocumented Irish does not develop, our friends on Capitol Hill have been clear that the status of the undocumented Irish cannot be addressed in isolation from other ethnic groups.”

Despite this setback, Martin stated that there may be opportunities for Irish workers hoping to gain US work visas included in the comprehensive immigration reform currently being discussed in Washington.

See the latest Immigration News