Hopes dashed of special working visa deal with US

GOVERNMENT hopes of landing a special working visa deal with the US have been dashed.

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin had been seeking a bilateral arrangement under which Irish emigrants to the US could have secured long-term working visas, known as E3s, and vice-versa.

The Government’s belief was that this would have prevented another generation of undocumented Irish emerging in the US.

But quizzed by Labour’s Michael D Higgins on the undocumented issue, Mr Martin admitted there was little chance of an E3 deal.

A recent Congressional delegation to Ireland spelled out that message clearly.

“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,” Mr Martin said.

The Government remains hopeful of a solution to the overall problem given that the White House is focused on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform.

“It’s a welcome development that they are going to look at the overall issue,” a spokesperson for Mr Martin said yesterday. “It will take longer [than getting an E3 deal], but there’s an opportunity there.”