New class of visa just for Australians: 10,500 Australians to move to the U.S. : rest of the world remains stuck at 65,000: no Iraq quid pro quo [!]

Chicago Tribune | Aussie allies catch a break in war bill with generous visas: "By Cam Simpson | Washington Bureau | Published May 13, 2005
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But buried on Page 91 of the $82 billion military spending bill passed by Congress this week is an extraordinary provision for Australia, a nation that considers itself America's steadiest comrade in arms and just sent fresh troops into Iraq.

A passage near the end of the bill for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan creates a new class of visa just for Australians.

The provision will allow up to 10,500 Australians to move to the U.S. for professional employment every year. Their spouses and children can live and work in the United States too. And the visas can be renewed indefinitely, provisions more generous than those offered to most other foreign professionals.

The special new visa for Australians comes as the number of similar visas for professionals from the rest of the world remains stuck at 65,000 annually. The backlog for such visas is so vast that the annual cap was reached on the first day they were made available last fall.

Creation of the new Australian visa came as 450 additional Australian troops were arriving in Iraq, but a spokesman for the Australian Embassy in Washington said there was no quid pro quo.