A bill to grant 12,000 US visas to young people in Northern Ireland and the six Border counties in the Republic has passed the House of Representatives and is expected to be approved by the Senate before it rises this week.
If approved, the visas will be part of an Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Programme to be spread over the next three years. Each year up to 4,000 persons can qualify for the one-year visas to help them in "developing job skills and conflict-resolution abilities" while living in the US.
To qualify, applicants would have to be under 35 and resident in Northern Ireland or the counties of Louth, Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim, Sligo or Donegal. The visa holders would participate in "a cultural and training programme approved by the Secretary of State and the Attorney General" in the US.
The passage of the Bill through the House is seen as a considerable achievement. It was first proposed by the Irish Immigration Reform Movement in New York and was supported by members of the Dail and Seanad when they visited Washington last May.
Republican Congressman James Walsh led efforts in the House to draft a suitable Bill with strong bipartisan support from Irish-American members. Mr Walsh also won the support of the influential Speaker, Mr Newt Gingrich when they both visited Ireland last August. In the Senate, the Bill has been sponsored by Republican Senator Al D'Amato.