Last week, President Donald Trump supported plans for a new bill to cut legal immigration to the US by 50 percent over the next ten years. The reform would change the process for getting a green card with the introduction of a points system, favoring high-skilled Anglophone employees.
The visafirst.com managing director, Edwina Shanahan, said that although it is still too early to determine all the implications, such a system could be highly beneficial to Irish immigrants. Similar points-based systems already operate in countries such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, where immigrants are selected for their work experience, English language skills, and skill-set rather than by a lottery system.
Shanahan notes that the Australian system uses a list of occupations for which the nation has a short supply of workers, giving different occupations different points and that the same would probably apply in a US visa points system. Points for being au fait with the English language would be an obvious advantage for Irish immigrants. Trump says that too many low-skill workers are entering the US, resulting in jobs being taken from low-skill Americans and that as well as protecting American families, the new system will help immigrants better assimilate and succeed in the US.
Shanahan said that a work experience, qualifications, and skill-set points system would also benefit Irish immigrants, with most Irish completing second-level education and going on to third, whether it be a profession or a trade.