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I rise today to speak in strong support of bill that unanimously passed this House in a bi-partisan manner last Congress, that would simply allow Irish citizens to access unused Australian working visas every year.

The E3 program, introduced in 2005 as part of the U.S. – Australian trade agreement, has made 10,500 visas available to skilled Australian nationals annually. It has been a successful pathway for qualified Australian citizens to gain valuable professional experience in the United States. However, our Australian friends have only used roughly half of the available visas during the past decade.

E3 visas are limited to professionals visiting the United States to perform services in “specialty occupations” in a confirmed job from a U.S. employer. Under the agreement reached with the Australians, the applicant must have university degree, or its equivalent, as a minimum for entry into the United States. The E3 visa allows the holder to stay in America for two years with an option to renew. Nothing will change.

In broad strokes, my bill would enable qualified Irish workers to access the unused Australian E3 visas going forward. I would also like to emphasize that this bill does not create any new visas, but rather reallocates unused visas from the current 10,500 pool. Once passed, the Irish government has pledged to adopt reciprocal arrangements that would enable Americans to work and live in Ireland.

The E3 visas, combined with these reciprocal arrangements, would provide welcome and long overdue movement of citizens between Ireland and the United States in both directions, which is so important to Irish America, the U.S., and Ireland. As many of you in this Chamber already know, legal migration between the United States and Ireland has been extremely limited for many years.

I would point out to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle that Irish America enthusiastically supports this measure. It has the backing of both the White House and the Irish government whose Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, we will welcome to the Capitol on Thursday for the annual Speaker’s St. Patrick’s Day Lunch. In my opinion, this bill is a win-winopportunity for the United States and Ireland, and for the citizens of both countries who will benefit from this highly innovative and beneficial exchange program.