[caption id="attachment_69698" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Senator Scott Brown backing Irish E3s."]
Senator Charles Schumer has issued a plea for passage of a bill that will allow up to 10,000 E3 visas for Ireland on an annual basis.
Schumer's is the primary mover behind a Senate bill, S.1983, that has been attached to a Republican-back House measure that adjusts the annual apportioning of green cards.
"The time is now to pass this common-sense bill that improves the fairness and efficiency of our immigration system, while also including a mutual visa exchange with America's long-time ally, Ireland," said Schumer in a statement.
"The underlying bill passed the Republican House with overwhelming bipartisan support and the Irish E-visa also has support from both parties. So there is no reason not to pass this bill today," said Charles Schumer, who is S.1983 lead sponsor along with Senators Patrick Leahy and Richard Durbin,
"This bill presents the rarest of opportunities to work together to pass a historic bill that will both open up, for the first time in decades, an avenue for legal Irish immigration to America and allow us to attract the kind of innovators who can create job growth in America," he said.
S.1983 mirrors a bill in the Senate penned by the GOP's Senator Scott Brown. But all action on the House and Senate measures have been halted after Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, placed a "hold" on them. Senator Brown previously wrote Grassley, ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, asking for his assistance with his bill proposing an Irish E3 program
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore is to meet with legislators involved in the E3 effort during his visit to Washington, D.C. today.
