I thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for affording me the opportunity to raise this matter this evening. After requesting permission to raise this matter last week I was approached by a number of Deputies on all sides who indicated that they have received complaints about this matter. The reason I raise it this evening is that I wish to ask the Minister to make representations to the United States Government to have procedural matters looked into and see to it that United States law is reviewed.
I very much regret having to raise this issue here as I have always felt that the United States have been reasonable towards Irish people in the past, although it should be said that Irish people have contributed a great deal to the development of the United States' economy down through the years. I am amused when I hear criticism about the number of illegals in the United States at present. It should be remembered that many of these illegals are well educated young Irish people who have been educated at the Irish taxpayers' expense and who are contributing to the growth of the United States economy. It is not the problem of this country if people are there illegally but rather the problem of the United States system which allows people to work without having the proper documentation.
What is happening here is that because of the number of illegals in the States ordinary people seeking visitors' visas to the US for various reasons, weddings, funerals, holidays etc. are being treated rather harshly when they approach the US Embassy here for their visitors' visas. I would like to quote what is contained in some correspondence to me. I will not disclose the names of individuals but this will give some idea of the type of thinking in the US Embassy at present as a result of obligations imposed on them by US law.
As you are probably aware, under United States law, every non-immigrant visa applicant must overcome the burden of a statutory presumption that he or she is actually an immigrant. An applicant's intention to return to a permanent residence abroad generally is established by the demonstration of compelling family, social, economic and other ties in another country which will oblige the individual to return there after a temporary stay in the United States. Since visitors to the US are not permitted to seek employment an applicant's economic position in another country as well as personal financial resources are important factors in determining whether an applicant has compelling economic ties abroad.
Under these circumstances Miss X was unable to overcome the legal presumption that she is an immigrant. Therefore the Consular Officers have no choice but to find her ineligible for a visa. Ineligibility under section 214b is not permanent and can be overcome by submission of additional evidence....
The United States always boasted of being the home of democracy and the bastion of the civil rights of ordinary individuals. I understood that in any decent democracy the rule of law was that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Under this section of US law a person is guilty until they prove they are innocent and I find this rather objectionable.
I have another example:
Miss X's application has been reviewed on several occasions.... Unfortunately she was unable to overcome previous findings of ineligibility under section 214 (b). This lady is employed at a relatively low wage. She has not been able to provide evidence that she has the personal financial resources to finance her proposed trip.
The lady was going to a wedding. I have here a copy of the wedding invitation, a copy of her bank statement, a letter from her employer saying that she is in a managerial position and is a very reliable individual, a copy of her passport and a letter from the family she was to stay with in the US quoting their telephone number and their address and accepting full responsibility for this lady. The most important thing here was that her fiancé who had a better job in this country, was given a visa but she was not because they thought that she was not earning enough money.
I would hate to think that any American visitor coming to this country on a holiday would be treated in the same fashion. I have to say in defence of the officials here in the US Embassy that they claim they are applying US law and I do not think it would be fair of me to suggest that they are deliberately behaving in an irresponsible way. The law is there and they have to apply it. However, trying to get a visa is now like going into a court particularly for a young person with a reasonable job. They have to prove all sorts of things and more and more Deputies are being approached by people outlining their circumstances and asking us to write to the US Embassy on their behalf. I do not think that we, as elected public representatives, should have to make representations to the US Embassy so that somebody can get a visitor's visa. It is time the Minister made representations to the US so that Irish people seeking to visit the US for genuine reasons will be able to get their visitors' visas and return home here to their places of employment.
I and my colleague who shares the office with me are aware of a number of such cases at present as are quite a number of other Deputies. Irish people have done a great deal to build the US economy. The Irish people there, unfortunately, are our loss. I should like to see them return to this country to use the talents they have and the education we have given them to build the Irish economy. If they are in the US and working, they are contributing to the US economy, so we should not have to apologise for ourselves. We should not tolerate a situation where Irish people are being discriminated against when seeking visitors' visas. One can go over the Border to Fermanagh or Tyrone or over to London without going through any such hassle. American politicians go out of their way, when there is an election of course, to court the Irish vote. Once the election is over, so far as I can see, the good wishes that are expressed towards Irish people disappear fairly rapidly, with the exception perhaps of a few instances. It is time we appealed to those American politicians to see to it that Irish people are treated properly and that there is a review of this section 214 (b) of their law which says that a person is guilty until he proves himself innocent, so that Irish people can get their visa, go on their holiday or to a wedding without having to ask us to make representations on their behalf to get them visitors' visas.
The lady I am speaking of here is genuinely going to a wedding. Another girl was going on holidays and I have evidence here to show that she is coming back, including a letter from her employer. Let me give one more example of how they are being treated. The reply I got back dated 17 May is as follows:
According to Miss X's application she returned to Ireland in April 1989 having spent the previous 12 months in London. Although she claims to be living in Ireland she presents an employment letter from a company in London. It was not clear whether she resides in the UK or in Ireland.
I have here a copy of correspondence that this lady sent to the US Embassy and it includes a letter from her employer which says she has been employed for the past two years in their Irish office. The embassy people obviously did not read the correspondence. They saw from the letterhead that this was a British company. I get a letter back from the embassy telling me that this is not clear because she has a letter from an employer who is in London, despite the fact that the letter says she has been working in their Irish office for the last two years and will be returning there.
I really appreciate the Chair giving me the opportunity to raise this matter because I feel I am doing it not just on my behalf but on behalf of all the Members of this House who I understand have had occasion to deal with the same problem from time to time. I again say that any time I telephoned the US Embassy I was treated with as much courtesy as one could expect so I have no quibble or complaints in that regard. It is quite obvious, however, that because of this section 214 (b) of US law these people are being put under pressure in the embassy here to say that if things do not look right they will not give a visa and then people who want to get a visa have to go through all sorts of rigmaroles and approach public representatives to try to get their visitors' visas. In some cases these unfortunate people are in danger of losing the deposits they have paid on airline tickets. I appreciate that the Chair has been very liberal on time. I thank the Minister of State for attending this evening. While I appreciate that he is not directly involved I ask him, through his good offices, to make representations to see to it that Irish people are treated properly.
