As of September, Irish professionals seeking American employment face a $100,000 barrier: the new cost for an H-1B visa petition. Meanwhile, approximately 5,000 E-3 visas, which cost just $315 and are set aside for Australian professionals, go unused annually. Legislation granting Irish nationals access to this surplus passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020, but became stuck in the Senate after a single senator used a procedural hold to block its progress.

Given this history and the Trump administration’s broader clampdown on immigration, it may seem strange to argue that the circumstances are right to add Ireland to the E-3 program now. However, the administration’s transactional outlook on world affairs creates a compelling logic for why Ireland deserves a high-skill visa carv

See Full Page