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 region’s 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 program’s 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 alien’s 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 employer’s 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 person’s 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 Department’s 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 Department’s 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 participant’s stay in the United States. Every effort will be made to ensure a job placement before the end of each participant’s 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 Department’s 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 Department’s program administrator. If approved, the participant’s 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 alien’s 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 visitor’s 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.

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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@millermayer.com) practices immigration law at Miller Mayer (http://www.millermayer.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 Mayer.

A prior version of this article appeared in 5 Bender’s Immigration Bulletin 469 (June 1, 2000). Copyright © 2000 Lexis Publishing. All rights reserved. The authors thank Matthew Bender for permission to reprint this article.