E-3 Visas for the Irish?
March 22, 2022
There is going to be another attempt to secure E-3 visas for Irish citizens.
When Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin meets tomorrow with President Joe Biden to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at the White House, he is expected to ask the President to support legislation that will mean work visas for Irish citizens.
E-3 visas are currently only available to Australian citizens and they allow a holder to work in the United States for up to two (2) years.
Up to 10,500 E-3 visas can be issued annually but only about half are typically used. Previous proposed legislation called for those E-3 visas not used by Australians to be made available to Irish citizens.
Massachusetts Congressman Ritchie Neal, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, spearheaded earlier attempts to acquire E-3 visas for the Irish. The legislation was approved unanimously by the House but was blocked by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton in the Senate.