Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern will today visit New York to raise the plight of the 30,000 illegal Irish in the United States.
Mr Ahern is meeting immigrant rights groups to support the campaign for citizenship rights for undocumented workers.
The Minister will also be briefing leading Irish-American figures on current developments in the effort to achieve power-sharing in Northern Ireland. Mr Ahern said the results of US mid-term elections had probably boosted chances of positive progress in the months ahead.
"My meetings over the weekend in the US will provide me and my officials with a greater insight into the possibilities for securing a positive outcome in the coming months," he said.
"There are certainly congressmen, both Republican and Democrat, who are very supportive of what we are trying to achieve. "Ultimately, the message I will be delivering is that the United States will benefit most by regularising the documentation of Irish immigrants."