First. fourth. and fifth preference is given to close relativesunmarried children. married children. and brothers and sisters. respectivelyof U.S. citizens. Second preference is given to spouses and unmarried children of aliens admitted here for. permanent residence. The 1968 report of the State Departments Visa Office comments as follows on the resuits: The emphasis on family reunification further heightens the shift in the pattern of immigration from northern to southern Europe and to Asia. where there is a greater tradition of emigration in family units. The typical Irish immigrantor. to put it more accurately. wouldbe Irish immigranttoday comes by himself. not with his family or to join his family. Now. as in the past. America holds out to him the promise of adventure and economic opportunity. Mr. John P. Collins. national chairman of the Irish National Immigration Committee. reported in testimony last year before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration. that of the 1.904 visas isued to Ireland between December 1. 1965 and March 31. 1967. only 499 were of the family preference type. and 435 of them went to brothers and sisters. Mr. Collins told the subcommittee: Analyzing Irish families. one finds that a few brothers and sisters from the family emigrate while others remain at home. The Irish emigrant is generally young. unmarried and hence brings no spouse or children. It is a rare case in recent times when a whole Irish family emigrates to the U.S. Thus Irelands sociological pattern of immigration does not permit it to compete equally with some other nationalities for family preference. The problem is intensified by the fact that. while there are more than 30 million Irish Americans. the majority have been here for at least three generations. Their close relatives are here. rather than in Ireland.
Identified stereotypes
The typical Irish immigrant comes alone, not with family.