The national AOH appears to me to be pursuing a failed strategy toward influencing immigration policy in the United States.
In addition, the national AOH does not have any alternative strategy for utilizing existing U.S. immigration programs to maximize the ability of Irish nationals to establish residency in the United States.
I am disappointed to report that the latest edition of the National Hibernian Digest contains almost no information on the status of the AOH’s effort to influence immigration policy in the United States.
Instead, the report buries the lead. The column written by our national immigration director Tom Lambert, a past president of the New York State AOH, discusses a lobbying visit to Capitol Hill by AOH representatives, but it does not mention when the E3 Visas for Ireland Bill might be introduced in the current two-year Congress that began in January.
The E3 Visa provides Australian citizens with access to 10,500 U.S. work visas annually, but many visas go unclaimed. The E3 Visas for Ireland Bill would have granted the unused Australian visas to Irish applicants.
In the last Congress, the bill was introduced in the House by Democratic Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, who at the time was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Neal lost his chairmanship in January of this year when Republicans gained majority control of the House.
The prospect for any immigration legislation in the current 118th Congress is admittedly very slim.
Given that outlook, the national AOH has not enunciated any practical policy agenda for dealing with the current political climate.
I think they might focus on existing VISA programs in addition to E3 and should put their energy on promoting those VISAs in Ireland.
For instance, international students pursuing full-time academic education or language training may travel to the United States on F-1 visas. There are many thousands of Chinese students who do this.
In addition, there’s the J-1 VISA, which is well known and has long been used by Irish college students to get their foot in the door here to work here for up to four months. Many do that for the summer months. They also are eligible to reapply.
The national AOH could, for instance, spearhead a nationwide effort to find job opportunities and housing assistance for J-1 applicants.
