Ireland Hit by Visa Fever: 80,000 Bids Sent to U.S.
DUBLIN, Ireland — Visa fever hit Ireland today as thousands of would-be emigrants trying to flee record 19% unemployment stuffed mailboxes with 80,000 special U.S. visa applications.
Postal officials said thousands of people spent the weekend stuffing mailboxes--many sending at least 20 applications each--and many post offices ran out of air mail stamps.
“There’s just nothing here for us,†said a young couple sending in applications they hoped will arrive in Washington with Wednesday’s first mail in a special 10,000 first-come, first-served visa “lottery†for people in 36 nations.
Applications arriving before Wednesday will be thrown out under the rules.
The visa fever stemmed from a decision by Congress, originated by Rep. Brian J. Donnelly (D-Mass.) to allow an extra 10,000 immigrants during the next two years.
Charles Gordon, a former general counsel of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, called it a “mad thing†that will trigger hundreds of thousands of people rushing to post offices around the world.
Although the chances of an individual being granted a visa under the scheme are small, it set off a sensation in Ireland and the U.S. Embassy reported receiving as many as 1,500 queries a day. The Post Office said 80,000 applications were sent by today.
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