Senior Sinn Féin negotiator Gerry Kelly will be in Washington next week but no meeting with administration officials has yet been confirmed.
The visit comes as US officials digest the fall-out from the Northern Bank robbery, which US officials believe, on advice from Dublin and London, was carried out by the IRA.
While the administration is clearly watching to see how the Irish and British governments conduct future interaction with Sinn Féin, the idea of denying visas to Sinn Féin leaders is described here as "not realistic".
On fundraising, no decision is likely to be taken on whether to continue to allow permission - first granted 10 years ago - until a Sinn Féin leader applies for a visa to come specifically for a fund-raising event. Each visa application in future is expected to be treated "on its merits" regarding the purpose of the visit.
The main fall-out from the current situation may be the annual meeting of the president with Northern Ireland party leaders, including Sinn Féin, which has been a feature of St Patrick's Day events in Washington since 1995. The attitude in the administration is that last year President Bush met the party leaders because the White House was then engaged with the British and Irish governments in a process to bring the DUP and Sinn Féin to agreement, which climaxed with Mr Bush's telephone calls to party leaders. Since the process has now "run its course" and the bank robbery has occurred, the St Patrick's Day events are being reconsidered.
Dr Mitchell Reiss, head of policy planning in the State Department, is understood to be "definitely" considering recommending changes in the format but has not made final recommendations to the White House. The shamrock ceremony with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and President Bush will nevertheless go ahead. If the reception for party leaders is cancelled the administration would not want it to be seen as a sanction against Sinn Féin, as this would mean the other parties were also being "punished".
However, if only Sinn Féin were to be disinvited, it would mean going back to the pre-ceasefire days a decade ago when the US excluded the party from contacts.Bush officials noted Mr Ahern's remark on Tuesday that his sense was "that non-engagement has never worked in my lifetime", and that he would resume contacts with Sinn Féin next week.
Mr Kelly is expected in Washington on Tuesday. Normally he would meet either Dr Reiss or senior State Department official Mr Eric Greene. However, no meeting has yet been scheduled. Mr Reiss is said to be furious about the bank robbery and is unlikely to agree to a meeting.