A Chance in the Irish Sweepstakes

When Fiona McConnell, 24, came to the U.S. from Ireland five years ago, she had a one-year visa. Now she is an illegal alien, working as a nanny in New York City. Which is why she plans to travel this week to Arlington, Va., to mail her application for one of the visa slots set aside for Irish nationals under the new law. If she gets a green card, McConnell says, "I could go to school or get a better job." Given her present status, McConnell does not have health insurance. In an emergency she would have to depend upon the collections that are regularly taken up at Irish pubs around the city. Because of the danger of being identified at airport customs as an illegal alien, she has been back to Ireland only once since coming to the U.S. "When I went through Immigration at Kennedy Airport, I was shaking," she recalls. But as far as she's concerned, the hardships of the illegal life have been worth it. Says she: "America is a great country to be in."