FOR most people August 1st was just another day. For thousands of young Irish people who sent off their applications for this year's Greencard Lottery last March each passing dog day of July lessened their chances for an opportunity to live in the United States as legal residents. Recipients of the 55,000 "DV- 97" visas offered by the lottery were all to have received their notification of selection letters by July 1st. Many, waited on through the month, in the hopes of a delay or a few slow days at the post office. By now, those who did not receive their notification may just hope for another lottery.
Gone are the glory days, it would seem, of the "Morrison Visas", when 48,000 glittering prizes were issued to Irish applicants over a period of three years, starting in 1990. Following them you had the Bermans, and now the "Schumann" visas, all named after the congressmen who introduced the bills in Washington.
"There's not one of those boys ever did me any good," claims Tim, an Irish illegal living in Manhattan who is not a happy man, and certainly an unlucky one. In almost six years of applying to the various schemes, he has never received the magic envelope. A qualified secondary school teacher now working in construction, his possibilities are limited by his illegal status, and yet he refuses to go home. "The joke last March among my friends," grins Tim, "was that if I didn't get a Greencard this time, I'd have to get hitched. I'm giving it until the end of July. But then, it'll be no joke."
Not an impossible move, although one that is often more trouble than it sounds. The term "Greencard Marriage" is not a new one, and has served as a last resort for many, an illegal emigrant. In 1990, Australian director Peter Weir even made a film on the subject, starring Gerard Depardieu. It had a happy ending, but in real life the results can be mixed.
Sheila and Paul were lucky. They had been going out together only six months when her particular shotgun circumstances raced them to the registry office. As a freelancer in the field of publicity, Sheila had outwitted the authorities for several years, but finally required legal status to take a crucial career opportunity. After receiving nothing from the Berman lottery, she remembers sitting beside Paul in her lawyer's office practically in tears, her holiday visa about to expire, asking the counsel for any possible suggest ions to outwit the INS (the US Immigration and Naturalisation Service). The lawyer shot the duo a mischievous look, and said simply, "you've three days to get married!"
Sheila looks back on it now with amusement. "It happened so fast that when I went home the following Christmas, my family all wanted to see the baby!" But the marriage has worked out, and the couple continue to live happily together today in Manhattan.
Rory, who was born in the United States but brought up in Ireland, married his Dutch girlfriend Marina under similar circumstances. In their case, the marriage went through its course they eventually divorced, and neither party is bitter. Rory's summation. "It didn't do any harm."
He recounts how the "Greencard Interview", an appointment that takes place several months after the couple applies, was a singular experience. When the official asked what floor the couple lived on, Marina, being European, answered "first". Rory, more Americanised, simultaneously offered "second", much to the general consternation.
When the man asked the bride for the zip code of her address, Marina had no clue. "I was very nervous as the session finished up," admits Rory, "and had to ask the guy what the story was. He snapped back that he had no problem giving Marina a Greencard, but that he was a bit worried how she was going to find her way home at night."
Some of the stories are less amusing. Brenda, a professional with a degree from UCG, worked a back breaking waitressing job in an Irish restaurant for two years before she decided to take action. In 1988, she "hired" an actor she met at a party to play the role of husband. He happily took $1,500 from her (she was to pay a balance of $500 after the interview), before disappearing without a trace. She found herself with no "husband" to bring to the all important interview, and under US law, was obliged to remain married for two years, the time required for a divorce based on "abandonment".
It took another four years before Brenda finally received a visa through the Morrison programme. "You do stupid things, I suppose," she concedes. "But at the time, I was very unhappy. I liked, New York, but knew I was wasting my qualifications in a dead end job, and not even able to go home at Christmas to my family."
"My family doesn't even know about my marriage," admits Claire, a broker on the New York stock exchange, "I was more terrified that my parents would find out than of the American emigration authorities. So I've never told them!"
Even the most liberal Irish parent's heart must quake at the mercenary sound of civil weddings, Greencard Agreements", and the fact that whether settled monetarily, or as a favour between friends, the final part of the bargain usually involves a divorce.
"I think the whole thing can be very damaging," suggests Tom whose marriage ended up with "insults, threats and tears". "Irish people grow up ingrained with the idea of marriage as a sacred tradition, and despite how sophisticated they think they've become living aboard, making a "deal" to get legal that involves marriage can have terrible consequences.
"In my own case, I experienced tremendous guilt and confusion, and the `marriage' put a false frame around the relationship, whereby the partner who was really in love ended up being terribly hurt." In the end, matters deteriorated to such a degree that Tom couldn't go through with the "Greencard" procedure, and now holds a "H-1" or specialist's visa, achieved through the intervention of his employer.
It is impossible to say how many "Greencard Marriages" have occurred, for the same reasons that it is impossible to tell how many Irish illegals currently reside in the US. If unmasked the foreigner in the offending couple can face deportment and blacklisting for future US entry, and the American citizen risks fines and even jail.
A WEEK ago, on Thursday, August 2nd Tim, his deadline past, decided he was sick of the tension fear and inconvenience of being illegal, and got married. The ceremony took place in New York's infamous City Hall registry office, the preference of most illegals the bride was Tim's current (American) girlfriend of three months. It was a riotous, good natured event attended by over a dozen of both spouses' friends with a noted absence of family. On Monday morning, Tim plans to get in line early at the INS offices to start the paperwork.
As the wedding party left the building after the (very brief) ceremony, a chatty African American doorman in the lobby wished them well. He was stoical about the lifetime of brides and grooms he has witnessed passing through. "When you get some quiet, 40 year old Serbian exile dude in his best Sunday suit, come in with a 17 year old Puerto Rican mama in thigh boots," he offered, "you can smile, but what else you gonna do? I mean, who's to say it ain't just the birds and the bees?"