Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 20 Apr 1994

Vol. 441 No. 6

Adjournment Debate. - US Visa Requirements.

Mr. Gilmore

Thank you, Sir, for permitting me to raise this matter on the Adjournment.

Ireland is one of only three European countries whose citizens are required to apply for a visa when visiting the United States of America, the others being Portugal and Greece. Citizens of other European Union countries like Britain, France and Germany are not required to apply for non-immigrant visas. I understand the historical reasons related to the extent of emigration from this country to the United States. While the level of emigration is still high, compared with, say, Britain, there is no reason for the United States authorities to treat Irish citizens as second-class Europeans whose entry to and stay in the United States has to be controlled on the same basis as Third World countries.

Given the alleged influence of the Irish lobby in the United States it is remarkable that this discriminatory practice has been allowed continue. Football fans travelling to the United States for the World Cup this year will encounter those restrictive visa requirements and many fans will be refused initially. It is to be hoped that the special arrangements being put in place will result in all of them being able to travel.

The administration of the visa requirement by the United States Embassy in Dublin impacts most severely on young Irish people wishing to travel to the United States for family or private reasons. As a Member of this House I have come across many cases in recent years of young people being refused visas for no apparent reason than that they were single, in their early twenties and did not own a house.

The problem seems to be that the United States authorities assume that an applicant for a non-immigrant visa intends to remain in the United States unless he or she can prove otherwise. The most recent case I have come across is most absurd. I will make details of that case available to the Tánaiste in the hope that he can prevail on the United States Embassy to issue a visa. The case concerns an applicant of 18 years of age who intended to travel to the United States at the end of May to attend a family wedding. He had planned to travel with seven other members of his family, all of whom applied for visas at the same time and have now been issued with them. One member of the travelling party is the 18-year-old girlfriend of the applicant but, as she is a United Kingdom citizen, she does not need a visa. The young man concerned wrote to the United States Embassy to have his application reviewed. He submitted letters from FÁS with whom he had been undertaking a training course, the girl who was to be married, the priest who was to conduct the service, his parish priest and myself, all attesting to his intention to return to Ireland after the wedding. Again he was refused and effectively told not to reapply.

There is an obligation on the Government to make the strongest possible representation to the United States authorities over the grossly unfair treatment of young people who are applying for visas to enter the United States.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

I thank Deputy Gilmore for raising this matter tonight as it gives me a further opportunity to outline the Government's concerns in this area and to inform the House of our continuing efforts to achieve a resolution of the problems being experienced by some Irish applicants for visitor visas to the United States.

Decisions about the issuing of visas to travel to the United States are, of course, a matter for the US authorities. However, my Department maintains close contact with the US Embassy and we are generally familiar with their procedures and the incidence of difficulties and refusals. The US Embassy informs us that up to 90 per cent of all non-immigrant visa applications are processed entirely by mail. In the 10 per cent or so of cases where applications are the subject of queries by the embassy, the applicants are interviewed. Most applicants are able to satisfy the Embassy's requirements at the interview stage and receive their visas. A review channel is also available to those whose applications are initially refused following their interviews. Reviews take up to ten days but are normally completed well within that time and result in a further significant proportion of visa approvals. Reapplications are accepted from those turned down following the review stage and who wish to submit additional documentation in support of their applications.

Apart from the disappointment for individuals whose applications are refused, the level of refusal in recent years has also had the effect of preventing Ireland's inclusion in the visa waiver pilot programme established under the United States Immigration Reform and Control Act, 1986, as I outlined and spoke of in detail on Question Time today. This pilot programme enables nationals of countries with relatively low visa refusal and overstay rates to visit the US for up to 90 days without the need to obtain a visa before travelling.

As I indicated in the Dáil earlier today, a country may be included in this programme if the number of refusals of applications for non-immigrant visas by its citizens in the previous two years is no more than 2 per cent of total applications on average, and less than 2.5 per cent in each of the two years. The number of refusals in the case of applications by Irish citizens remains above those limits.

The Government is very anxious to see Ireland included in the visa waiver pilot programme. We and our friends in Congress continue actively to lobby in pursuit of this aim. We are very glad that Congressman Frank McCloskey and Ronald Machtley recently introduced in the House of Representatives a Bill which, if passed by Congress, would ensure Ireland's inclusion in the programme and, consequently, the suspension of the visa requirement for most Irish people going to the US on short visits.

While it is too early at this stage to say what the outcome of the McCloskey-Machtley and other initiatives will be— and one has to recognise that there is always opposition to proposals to facilitate easier access to the US — I am hopeful that Congress will adopt legislation soon which will allow the US authorities to admit Irish people for short visits without the need to obtain a visa in advance. The Government is doing all it can to maximise support for the McCloskey-Machtley Bill and other such measures and I will be raising the matter personally with the US authorities over the coming weeks.

The suspension or ending of the visitor visa requirement would obviously solve the problems of intending short term Irish visitors to the US mentioned by Deputy Gilmore. However, this will not happen in time for the World Cup finals which will be attended by very many Irish team supporters. We are, therefore, continuing to press the US authorities to be as understanding and flexible as possible to ensure that all genuine supporters receive visas. We are in continuous contact with the US Embassy on the matter. We recognise that arriving at fair decisions while respecting the statutory guidelines by which the embassy is bound can sometimes be difficult. I am told that evidence of previous travel in support of the Irish team, or having a match ticket or a credible prospect of obtaining one, or of being a member of a supporters' club, can be crucially important in borderline cases.

If Deputy Gilmore wishes to have any special case addressed I assure him that I, as a Deputy for the constituency of Kerry North, have had to make a contact, on many occasions both in Opposition and in Government in relation to such applicants and I would be only glad to offer my services to him. We are also assured that applications are not being refused by the embassy solely because people are unemployed, are unmarried, are in low paid jobs or are in certain age categories.

In fairness to the American Embassy, despite individual cases as Deputy Gilmore mentioned, in recent times the Ambassador and her staff have been particularly courteous and helpful. I will make my office available to the Deputy if he wants me to take up any particular case.