Lester Dorman

I was one of the first people to receive the Morrison Visa. When I went to the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, they told me I was among the very first selected. At the time, I was living in Lake Tahoe, working at Squaw Valley, now known as Palisades Tahoe, as a ski instructor during the winter and year-round at the Squaw Valley Inn, now the PlumpJack Inn. After getting my visa, I moved down to San Francisco, as I had been dating a woman from there for a few years. We got married the year after I received my green card, and we still live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I grew up in Castleknock, on Dublin’s north side. I went to O’Connell’s School next to Croke Park, where my father and three brothers also attended. During my later school years and after the Leaving Cert, I worked the markets with my mother, Peggy. We ran stalls at the Liberty Market on Meath Street and the Dandelion Market near Stephen’s Green on weekends. During the week, I’d drive in the pre-dawn hours to Kildare, Carlow, Navan, Naas, and even to Jonesboro on the border, selling children’s and women’s clothing we bought wholesale from Liverpool, Manchester, and later, Williams Street in Dublin. We made a modest profit, selling the stock at a small markup in the markets.

I was also playing drums in a New Wave band called Pop Mechanics in the early 1980s. We appeared a few times on Gerry Ryan’s Nonstop Pop show on RTÉ, played several regular gigs around Dublin, and even opened for Roxy Music at the RDS in August 1982. When the band broke up in early 1983, work was scarce, and the markets were struggling too. I couldn’t see any path forward, so like many others, I followed the masses to the United States. I first landed in Florida to visit my aunt for a few weeks, then made my way to New York.

My first job in New York was as a busboy at Xenon, a famous nightclub in Times Square that is now the Stephen Sondheim Theater on West 43rd Street. It was an eye-opener, celebrities filled the place. I met Sylvester Stallone, Diana Ross, models from Ford Model Agency, and all kinds of actors. One of my most memorable moments that summer was meeting John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) at Eamonn Doran’s bar on 52nd Street. He was having Sunday brunch, and I introduced myself, told him I used to play in a band, and asked for an autograph. He was friendly and signed an Eamonn Doran’s cocktail napkin, “To Lester, from John Lydon, a true star!” Sadly, I gave it to the DJ at Xenon in exchange for playing a few of my song requests, I’ve always regretted that.

The biggest challenge in those early years was not being able to plan a proper career path. I was undocumented. I had a fake Social Security card, which allowed me to get jobs, and service work wasn’t hard to find, even during tough times. Being Irish helped a lot. I was always upfront about it, willing to work hard and take on whatever was available. I made friends easily, and that helped open doors. But I couldn’t go home and return without risking everything, and I couldn’t really move forward professionally without legal status.

When I heard about the Morrison Bill, I went to the Irish Consulate in San Francisco. They advised me to be patient, stay out of trouble, remain in the U.S., and wait for the amnesty. That advice gave me hope, it was the first real path forward I’d seen in years.

“It wasn’t just the move to the United States that changed my life, but the Morrison Visa itself. It utterly changed the direction of my life in so many positive ways. It allowed me to go to college and realize my potential.”

I started at a community college and did so well that I was accepted into Stanford University after two years. I earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees there in just three years. That remains my proudest achievement.

I married the woman I met in Tahoe, and we have three fantastic children, all now grown and living on their own. Right after graduating, I landed a highly sought-after job at Sun Microsystems, and the rest, as they say, is history. I’ve truly lived the American Dream and now find myself just a few years away from retirement.

The Morrison Visa program allowed me to live that dream, plain and simple. It gave me a path to citizenship, which every immigrant hopes for. Without programs like it, you can arrive in a country, but without legal status, you’re forced to live a very different kind of life. You’re essentially stuck as a second-class citizen. But with the right support and opportunity, everything changes. I’m incredibly grateful to have had that chance.