For years, the Irish have been immigrating to America. They have come both legally and illegally. Luckily for the Irish they have been involved in a very generous Green Card lottery programs including the Donnelly and Morrison which specified a certain number of immigrant visas for Irish born citizens and now the somewhat less generous Diversity Visa lottery program which unfortunately has not produced nearly as many winners as the past programs.

There are basically two classes of visas: Immigrant Visas for those immigrating permanently to the U.S. and non-immigrant visas for those going temporarily to the U.S.  However, due to the constant evolution of immigration law, it is best that you research the more current sources of information such as government websites (as below) local U.S. Embassies and Consulates and immigration lawyers. The I.I.P.C. regularly holds immigration seminars in their offices. Susanna Bogue and Jim Byrne specialize in this kind of work in San Francisco and throughout the Peninsula. You can email the office to find out the next date of these immigration advice evening, or you may have an immigration query that the office can help you with. Mail iipc@pacbell.net with your questions.

One of the best information sources is the U.S. State Department visa website http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html This website gives details of the allocation of visas in different categories, the visitor and student visas, immigrant visas, employment visas, revalidating visas in the U.S., marriage to foreign nationals, frequently asked questions, U.S. Embassy/Consulate Phone numbers, fax numbers and addresses, and links to other important immigration information websites. One such link is the government INS website. It’s address is www.ins.usdoj.gov. Here, INS forms can be downloaded and information such as immigration law and regulations, statistics, public affairs and naturalization can be found.

The Department of State’s 24 hour Visa Lottery information Center at 1-900-884-8840 which will bill you at a flat fee of $5.10 per call or else you can visit their website at http://travel.state.gov under visa services.

The "Alien File" column in The Irish Herald at http://ww.irish-herald.com or email: afile@justimmigration.com or contact immigration attorney, Susanna Bogue, at (415) 777-4444.

The San Francisco-based Irish Abroad website has a new advice section which includes immigration advice at www.irishabroad.com/advice/immcurrent.htm. Another good internet source for Irish immigration news is the Emerald Isle Immigration Center in New York which can be visited at www.eiic.org.

The INS offices are located as follows:

In San Francisco at 630 Sansome Street (between Washington & Jackson)
In San Jose at 1887 Monterey Road, San Jose, CA 955112-6117

In Ireland, all U.S. visa regulations can be obtained from the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, or the U.S. Consulate in Belfast.

Prior to taking any steps towards compliance with U.S.Immigration Law, we recommend consultation with an immigration practitioner.