Emerald Isle Immigration Center

Media Note
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
September 24, 2008

Twelve-Month Intern Work and Travel Pilot Program

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
John D. Negroponte and Ireland Foreign Minister Micheal Martin signed a Memorandum
of Understanding on an Intern Work and Travel Pilot Program on September 24
in Washington, D.C.
The United States and Ireland soon will begin to implement a Twelve-Month Intern
Work and Travel Pilot Program for post-secondary students or young people within
twelve months of graduation. The new program is an innovative exchange program
that will allow thousands of young people from Ireland to enter the United
States for a period of twelve months on a J-1 exchange visitor visa. There
also will be reciprocal opportunities for young people from the United States
to travel to Ireland. This will allow students from both countries to participate
in a variety of internships, and to travel independently within the United
States and Ireland.

The program will be coordinated by the
private sector under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State's
Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, and falls under the Intern
Category of the Exchange Visitor Program. This program is set to be
launched in late 2008 or early 2009. Further details and prerequisites
on the program will be available from the U.S. Embassy in Dublin and
Ireland's Embassy in Washington, DC.

The people of the United States and
Ireland have deep and abiding traditional and historical links. Today's
signing is designed to cultivate further mutual understanding between
the people of the United States and Ireland, and to strengthen the
connections between young people from our two countries. By enacting
this agreement, the United States government hopes to broaden the
international internship and travel experience for those who may not
otherwise have an opportunity to do so.

Authority for the Exchange Visitor
Program derives from the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act
of 1961, also known as the Fulbright-Hays Act. The Act's intent is to
increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States
and other countries through educational and cultural exchanges.

2008/772
Released on September 24, 2008

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2008/sept/110210.htm

USCIS Reaches FY 2009 H-1B Cap

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received
enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap for
fiscal year 2009. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B
petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the
“advanced degree” exemption. Before running the random selection
process, USCIS will complete initial data entry for all filings
received during the filing period ending on April 7, 2008. Due to the
high number of petitions, USCIS is not yet able to announce the precise
day on which it will conduct the random selection process.

USCIS will carry out the
computer-generated random selection process for all cap-subject
petitions received. USCIS will select the number of petitions needed to
meet the caps of 65,000 for the general category and 20,000 under the
“advanced degree” exemption limit. USCIS will reject, and return filing
fees for all cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, unless found
to be a duplicate. USCIS will handle duplicate filings in accordance
with the interim final rule published on March 24, 2008 in the Federal
Register.

The agency will conduct the selection
process for “advanced degree” exemption petitions first. All “advanced
degree” petitions not selected will be part of the random selection
process for the 65,000 limit.

Related Files · Update (25KB PDF)

MARK HENNESSY, Political Correspondent
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2008/0919/1221773888183.html

Fri, Sep 19, 2008

TWENTY THOUSAND one-year working visas to
the United States are to be made available under a deal to be agreed in
a final round of talks in Washington today, it emerged last night.

Under the new agreement, the J visas will
be available not just to students as the existing three-month J1 visas,
but to anyone with a secondary-school education, or a trade.

The package has been worked on for
several months by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish
Embassy in Washington, led by Ambassador Michael Collins, and the US
state department.

Speaking in New York in July, Taoiseach
Brian Cowen made it clear that action on visas and immigration to the
United States would be a priority during his time in office.

The visa deal to be agreed today with the
state department will come into force in the New Year, sources said
last night. So far, it is not yet clear what the top qualifying age for
applications will be.

Relations between the Irish-American
community and the Government, which were near- poisonous in the final
months before Bertie Ahern departed from office, have improved
significantly in recent times.

Mr Ahern had argued that the demand by
Irish-American groups for an amnesty for Irish illegals was
unrealistic, while they, in turn, said Ireland was failing to put any
pressure on the US authorities.

Meanwhile, Irish-American immigration
groups have urged people to be careful when they apply for another visa
scheme that offers 50,000 Green Cards.

Applications for the places in the
Diversity Visa Lottery will open between October 2nd and December 1st
this year, and applications can be downloaded from
www.dvlottery.state.gov.

However, the Coalition of Irish
Immigration Centres, in a statement released yesterday, warned
potential applicants not to deal with unverified online operators, who
are illegally charging fees for the work, and then not doing it.

"Irish citizens who are interested in
working in the USA in the next couple of years should apply for the
lottery as it will give them an opportunity to apply for a "green card"
(legal permanent residency).

"Winners should consult the Irish centres
once they have been notified to ensure that they are eligible and that
the application is completed correctly. Instructions and additional
information will be available at the department of state site during
the application period. This is the only official site, many on-line
scammers will offer to take your money and not even request your
digital photo," said the combined lobby group.

Last year, only 132 Irish applicants were chosen under the DV Lottery, but demand is likely to be higher this year.

© 2008 The Irish Times

Travelers from Ireland and about two dozen other "Visa
Waiver" countries will be required to register electronically before boarding
a plane or boat to the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
announced recently.

DHS will begin accepting applications via a secure
Internet site on August 1, and will require visitors to use the Internet system
beginning January 12, 2009, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said.
The move will help U.S. authorities vet foreign visitors, he said.

The requirement
does not apply to U.S. citizens traveling overseas.

The announcement is the
latest change to the Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens of 27 countries
— most of them European countries that are strong U.S. allies — to travel
to the U.S. without a visa. Currently, citizens from VWP countries complete
a written green form (I-94W) providing basic biographical, travel and eligibility
information while en route to the U.S. and submit the forms to border officials
on arrival.

Under the new program, known as Electronic System
for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, travelers will complete an electronic version
of the form before traveling. DHS recommends that travelers fill out the form
not less than three days (72 hours) before traveling, and authorizations will
be valid for up to two years or until the applicant's passport expires, whichever
comes first.

Initially, there will be no fee to apply for travel
authorization, although one may be imposed later. Visitors will still be required
to have valid passports, but after January 12, travelers with valid ESTA clearance
will not be required to complete the written form.

Chertoff said the system
will make it easier for U.S. officials to check travelers against terror watch
lists, and will help travelers by allowing them to deal with possible problems
before they get to U.S. borders.

Chertoff said ESTA is "a 21st century
solution" to
the problem of keeping terrorists out of the United States.

Click
for More Information . . .