Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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353. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has spoken to his counterpart in the United States and in the United States Embassy regarding the delays in issuing visas to Irish citizens who have been approved for said visas at their embassy in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24256/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The processing of visas to enter the United States is solely a matter for the US authorities, and my Department has no remit over the operations of the US Embassy Visa Service. My advice to those seeking to apply for a US visa or for an ESTA visa waiver is to get information from the website of the US Embassy in Dublin and to engage with them directly on their application.

Officials from my Department are in regular communication with the US Embassy, and understand that efforts are being made to minimise waiting times, including the allocation of dedicated extra resources for the processing of J1 visa applications, which is expected to result in a significant increase in the number being processed in the coming days and weeks.