Q-2: The Walsh Visa
Q-2: The Walsh Visa
Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 5:11 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
www.ZaZona.com
Thanks to the Q-2 visa we can lose our jobs to cheap labor from Ireland
also. Keep in mind that many Irish come to the US on H-1Bs, but the Q-2
visa seems to be an easier route. Q-2 visa holders, unlike H-1B, must
pay for all of their visa expenses so it's obvious why employers want
the Irish to use Q-2s. H-1B requires the employer to pay the expenses.
Unfortunately for the Irishmen on these visas, they too are indentured
to their employer.
A Q-2 alien who loses his or her job has just 30 days from his
or her last date of employment to locate appropriate employment
or training, to have the job offer certified by the Q-2 program
administrator, and to have it approved by the Service. If
appropriate employment or training cannot be found within this
30-day period, the principal alien and any accompany family
members must leave the United States.
Some things just never seem to change:
http://migration.ucc.ie/conferences%20and%20publications/conferences/scattering/conferencepapers/Prof.%20Jay%20P.%20Dolan.htm
The Irish have been emigrating to the United States since
the seventeenth century. it is estimated that as many as 200,000
Irish emigrated to colonial America in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. Men, women and children they came as
indentured
servants, convicts, merchants, lawyers, priests, and farmers.
Colonial newspapers regularly announced the arrival of "Irish
servants, men, women and boys, all in good health, whose times of
service, agreeable to indenture, are to be disposed of."
http://www.twmlaw.com/resources/nonimmigrant/nonimmigrant15cont.htm
Q-2 Visas: A New Work Visa Category
Click for a Printable Version of this Article
Q-2 Visas: A New Work Visa Category
By Stephen Yale-Loehr and Silke Sookraj*
Introduction
In 1998 Congress quietly passed the Irish Peace Process Cultural and
Training Program Act of 1998 (IPPCTPA), which amended the INA by
creating a new Q-2 nonimmigrant visa subcategory. Rep. James Walsh
(R-NY) sponsored this legislation. Hence, Q-2 visas are also referred
to as Walsh visas. Under this law residents of Northern Ireland or of
certain border counties in the Republic of Ireland may be issued a visa
for up to three years. The purpose of this new nonimmigrant subcategory
is to provide such aliens with practical training, employment, and the
experience of coexistence and conflict resolution so that they may
return to Ireland or Northern Ireland to bolster that regions
economy and support the peace process.
The INS and State Department recently issued regulations to implement
the Q-2 visa category. Most people who even know about this category
may think that it is limited to peace activists from Ireland. As this
article shows, however, U.S. employers may use this category if they
fit the programs requirements. As other work visa categories, such
as the H-1B, become harder to use, employers may want to explore this
new opportunity.
The Q-2 visa category differs in important ways from the existing Q
visa, which is now referred to as the Q-1 visa. First, only aliens
between 18 and 35 years old may participate in the Q-2 program. Second,
Q-2 participants must have been physically resident in the designated
areas of Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland for at least three
months immediately preceding application to the program. Finally, the
entire program is limited in numbers and temporary in nature. Only
4,000 people a year can be admitted under this law. The Q-2 visa
program sunsets on September 30, 2005.
Q-2 Program and Employer Requirements
Congress established the following provisions for the Q-2 subcategory:
In each of three consecutive program years beginning in FY 2000, up to
4,000 residents of Northern Ireland, including spouses and children,
may be provided nonimmigrant visas to enter the United States for up to
36 months to develop job skills and conflict resolution abilities.
The aliens employment must be in a field of endeavor that has been
identified by governmental agencies in Northern Ireland and Ireland as
one that will be useful to the economy of the region. The designated
sectors currently include hospitality and tourism, customer service,
information and communications technology, pharmaceuticals,
engineering, sales, marketing and promotion, and furniture.
The Department of State and the INS have agreed that the most efficient
way to administer Q-2 visas is to select a program administrator from
the private sector experienced in managing projects of similar scope
and complexity. The program administrator is responsible for the
day-to-day management of the program. The two agencies have selected
Logicon, Inc. as the Q-2 visa program administrator.
A U.S. employer interested in employing and/or providing training under
the Q-2 visa program must first be approved by the State Department. To
participate in the Q-2 visa program, U.S. employers must:
Provide job/training opportunities that (1) correspond to one of the
occupational areas identified by the governments of Northern Ireland
and the Republic of Ireland and (2) include a career path comprising
work assignment rotations and/or training opportunities that offer
promotion potential if job performance is satisfactory;
Offer health insurance;
Pay participants the same wage as U.S workers doing the same or similar
work;
Agree not to petition for a change of immigration status or
nonimmigrant status for any participant;
Grant permission to the program administrator to conduct on-site visits
and take other measures necessary to verify that each employers
job/training contract is being followed;
Notify the program administrator if a Q-2 participant is fired or
leaves the program; and
Prepare a written record describing the work experience gained and make
it available to each participant.
Q-2 Beneficiary Requirements
The legislation provides that any resident of Northern Ireland or the
counties of Louth, Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim, Sligo, and Donegal within
the Republic of Ireland is eligible to apply for a Q-2 visa. Applicants
must be physically resident in either Northern Ireland or in the
designated border counties of the Republic of Ireland for at least
three months immediately preceding application to the program. They
must be between 18 and 35 years old at the time of initial admission to
the United States under the program. In addition, applicants must fall
within one of the following two categories:
Unemployed people who either (a) who have been unemployed for at least
three months or (b) have completed or are currently participating in a
program of the Training and Employment Agency of Northern Ireland
(T&EA) or of the Training and Employment Authority of Ireland (FAS) or
another publicly funded training and employment program. This category
also includes people who have recently been made redundant in their
employment (i.e., lost their job) or have received a notice of
redundancy (termination of employment). They may apply to the program
immediately without having to wait three months after becoming
employed.
People who (a) are currently employed and (b) whose current employer
has nominated them to participate in the program for additional
training and/or job experience that will benefit both the employee and
the employer upon that persons return to his or her prior
employment.
Application Procedures
Nomination by the T&EA or FAS or recommendation by an employer for
program participation is the first stage of the selection process. A
U.S. employer, approved by the State Department, must also be willing
to offer employment or training to such individuals. All candidates
must then meet U.S. visa requirements. If no U.S. employer is
interested in hiring a particular candidate or if any particular
candidate is ineligible for either a U.S. visa or admission into the
United States, that individual is ineligible for participation in the
Q-2 program.
There is no petition requirement for Q-2 visitors. However, each
candidate must have a written certification from the State
Departments program administrator indicating that he or she has been
selected for participation in the program before applying for a Q-2
visa.
The U.S. Consulate General at Belfast accepts Q-2 visa applications
from residents of Northern Ireland. The U.S. Embassy at Dublin accepts
applications for Q-2 visas from residents of the border counties in the
Republic of Ireland. An applicant for a Q-2 visa may not apply at any
other consular post.
Limitation on Stay; Extensions; Foreign Residence Requirement
Visas for the principal Q-2 alien and for the Q-3 spouse and children
are normally issued for 36 months. If, however, the planned period of
training lasts less than 36 months, or if the consular officer
determines that the visa should be issued for a shorter period of time,
the consular officer may issue the visa for the period most suitable to
that particular applicant.
Q-2 participants and eligible dependents admitted for less than 36
months may extend their period of stay through the INS so that their
total period of stay is 36 months, provided the extension of stay is
related to employment or training certified by the Q-2 program
administrator.
The intent of the Walsh visa program is to have participants return
home to contribute to the economic regeneration of their region and to
promote the peace process. Several factors provide a strong incentive
for the participants in this program to return home. First, the State
Departments program administrator will, with the training and
employment agencies in the cooperating counties, assist each
participant to identify specific job opportunities in his/her home area
during the course of the participants stay in the United States.
Every effort will be made to ensure a job placement before the end of
each participants U.S. program. Second, any participant who is no
longer in valid nonimmigrant status and remains in the United States or
who remains in the United States beyond the 36-month period of
admission risks being put into removal proceedings by the INS. Third,
employers participating in the Walsh visa program must agree not to
petition the INS to change the status of a Q-2 visa holder.
Each person admitted to the program must have a residence abroad that
he or she has no intention of abandoning and must otherwise be
qualified to receive a visa.
Employment
Q-2 visa holders are authorized to work only for the selected employer.
They do not need a separate work authorization document from the INS.
Q-2 aliens are responsible for paying all applicable federal, state and
local taxes, as well as Social Security contributions. This differs
from Q-1 international cultural visitors and J and F nonimmigrants.
Principal Q-2 visa holders who want to change employers must request
such a change through the State Departments program administrator to
the INS. The Service will grant such a change only if the new employer
has been approved to participate in the Q-2 program and such approval
is communicated to the Service through the State Departments program
administrator. If approved, the participants Form I-94 will be
annotated to show the new employer. If denied, there is no appeal.
A Q-2 alien who loses his or her job has just 30 days from his or her
last date of employment to locate appropriate employment or training,
to have the job offer certified by the Q-2 program administrator, and
to have it approved by the Service. If appropriate employment or
training cannot be found within this 30-day period, the principal alien
and any accompany family members must leave the United States.
Spouses and Children of Q-2 Beneficiaries
The principal Q-2 alien may bring his or her spouse and minor children
to the United States. These family members may either travel with the
principal alien to the United States or join him/her at a later date.
They are counted in the total annual number admitted to the United
States under this program. The visa designation for eligible family
members is Q-3. All family members must depart the United States at the
end of the principal aliens program. However, those spouses or minor
children who do not wish to accompany or follow to join the principal
alien, but desire to only briefly visit the principal alien in the
United States, may enter under the visa waiver pilot program or obtain
a B-2 visitors visa.
Family members entering the United States with a Q-3 visa under this
program are not allowed to work. Those spouses who are also principal
participants and have been issued a Q-2 visa are eligible to work. The
spouse and minor children of the principal alien may attend school
without violating their Q-3 status.
Departures and Reentries
Aliens in Q-2 or Q-3 status may leave the United States for up to three
months and return without having to obtain a new visa. However, such
periods of time spent outside the United States will not be added to
the end of stay, which is not to exceed a total of three years from the
initial date of entry of the principal alien. Q-2 participants or
dependents who remain outside the United States for more than three
consecutive months will not be readmitted on their initial Q-2 or Q-3
visa. Instead, they must reapply to the program and receive a new Q-2
or Q-3 visa before they can return to the United States.
________
Bio info: * Stephen Yale-Loehr is co-author of Immigration Law and
Procedure, published by Matthew Bender and Company, Inc.
(http://www.bender.com). Mr. Yale-Loehr (mailto:syl@twmlaw.com)
practices immigration law at True, Walsh & Miller
(http://www.twmlaw.com) in Ithaca, New York, and also teaches
immigration law at Cornell Law School. Silke Sookraj is a graduate
student at Cornell University and a research assistant at True, Walsh &
Miller.
A prior version of this article appeared in 5 Benders Immigration
Bulletin 469 (June 1, 2000). Copyright ) 2000 Lexis Publishing. All
rights reserved. The authors thank Matthew Bender for permission to
reprint this article.
The contents of these web pages are provided for general informational
purposes and do not constitute legal advice for specific cases, which
should only be obtained from an attorney.
Copyright ) 2003 True, Walsh & Miller, LLP. Attorneys at Law
The Commons, 202 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850
phone: 607-273-4200, fax: 607-272-6694, E-mail: twm@twmlaw.com
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