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There was no action for years, but with the arrival of Christmas it's a relative blizzard.
At the same time, the situation surrounding a possible visa bonanza for the Irish is more opaque this week than snowy and bright after a second E-3 bill emerged in the U.S. Senate.
The bill, crafted by Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Mark Kirk of Illinois, both Republicans, in part reflects the first bill written up by Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York.
But it differs in one key respect. While the Schumer bill, which is cosponsored by Senators Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Dick Durbin of Illinois, contains a provision granting waivers for undocumented Irish hoping for relief by means of an E-3 visa, the Brown/Kirk measure does not.
And the very existence of two bills in a Congress that will go down in history as a rival to the feuding Hatfields and McCoys is causing concern and uncertainty among advocates for greater legal access to the United States for the Irish.
The Schumer measure, which would allocate 10,000 E-3 visas a year for eligible Irish applicants, came on the heels of a House of Representatives move upping the annual green card numbers for citizens of India, China, Mexico and the Philippines.
It was initially anticipated that the Senate and House measures were to be paired, but the arrival of the second bill has muddied the waters.
The E-3 is not a green card but a two year renewable visa that is granted if the successful applicant secures a job offer. Several countries currently have reciprocal E-3 visa deals with the U.S., most notably Australia.
The Schumer bill, critically, would offer a way for the undocumented Irish to apply for an E-3.
The Brown/Kirk bill, dubbed the Irish Immigration Reform and Encouragement (IRE) Act of 2011, adds the "Republic of Ireland" to the ongoing E-3 visa program, providing 10,500 employment visas that, according to a statement from the two senators, have no limit on the number of renewals allowed.
"The United States and Ireland have a close bond, and our people remain tightly knit through a long history of Irish immigration. Sadly, inefficiencies in our immigration program have resulted in increasingly poor prospects for Irish immigrants," said Senator Brown.
"This legislation rectifies the decades-long plight by including the Irish in a special visa program that encourages their skilled workers to come to our shores. Legal immigration is the foundation of America, and we must continue to find ways to improve our visa and green card programs, especially when it comes to the treatment of our strongest allies and closest friends," he said.
The accompanying statement said that the Brown/Kirk bill "recognizes the damage done to Irish immigration prospects in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 and therefore adds the Republic of Ireland into the E-3 visa program."
It specifies an annual total of 10,500 employment visas available for the Irish.
It further describes the measure as "a standalone bill that does not include controversial immigration provisions that could weaken national security and rule of law."
It "recognizes the history between Ireland and the United States, and the importance of increased Irish immigration."
Action on one or both bills is not anticipated until next month as the Senate has gone into holiday recess.
However, there is already a behind the scenes debate on just where the Irish now stand with two E-3 bills as opposed to one which would have cross-party backing.
Some activists are concerned that there is now an all too familiar partisan divide between the parties on the specific matter of a waiver for the undocumented, though it would appear possible that across the aisle agreement is possible on the matter of E-3 visas for applicants based in Ireland.
The emergence of the bills follows years of lobbying by Irish immigration advocacy groups who ultimately support comprehensive immigration reform, a goal that has proved elusive.
The Schumer bill came into the light of day after a series of meetings between senators and members of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Chicago Celts for Immigration Reform, and representatives of Irish immigration centers in various U.S. cities.
The Irish government is also supportive of an E-3 program similar to the one that applies to Australia.
