College graduates are to be excluded from a US-Ireland visa programme under legislation that is almost certain to be passed by the US Congress.
Legislation to renew the Walsh Visa programme, which allows young people from Northern Ireland and Border counties to work in the US for up to three years, will also extend the time a "Category I" applicant has to be officially unemployed from three months to six months, and changes the age limit from 18 to 21 years.
The unemployment requirements are not expected to apply to "Category II" cases, where a visa applicant is sponsored to travel to the US for job training by an Irish employer.
New York congressman, Mr Jim Walsh, who lends his name to the programme and is sponsoring its renewal in the House of Representatives, has made the adjustments to focus the programme towards the "pools of unemployment" that feed into sectarian hatred.
However, the adjustments will add further tension between the congressman and some officials in the Northern Ireland Department of Education and Learning, whom he has publicly criticised for not giving the programme enough support.
Mr Walsh said twice this year that bureaucrats in the Department of Education and Learning wanted "high end", well-paid jobs for applicants, which, he said, went against the purpose of the programme.
The Walsh Visa, officially known as the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Programme, was introduced after the signing of the Good Friday agreement to help improve employment prospects and drain support from sectarianism.
The scheme, now in its fourth year, is currently heavily undersubscribed.