Diversity Immigrant Visa

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New immigrants to the United States (2018-2022), in family and employment categories, by country of birth .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} >100,000 50,000-100,000 20,000-50,000 10,000-20,000 5,000-10,000 <5,000 United States and its territories US immigration FE.png
New immigrants to the United States (2018–2022), in family and employment categories, by country of birth
  >100,000
  50,000–100,000
  20,000–50,000
  10,000–20,000
  5,000–10,000
  <5,000
  United States and its territories
New immigrants to the United States (2018-2022), in diversity category, by country of birth >10,000 5,000-10,000 2,000-5,000 1,000-2,000 500-1,000 <500 Ineligible United States and its territories US immigration DV.png
New immigrants to the United States (2018–2022), in diversity category, by country of birth
  >10,000
  5,000–10,000
  2,000–5,000
  1,000–2,000
  500–1,000
  <500
  Ineligible
  United States and its territories

The Diversity Immigrant Visa program, also known as the green card lottery, is a United States government lottery program for receiving a United States Permanent Resident Card. The Immigration Act of 1990 established the current and permanent Diversity Visa (DV) program.

Contents

The lottery is administered by the Department of State and conducted under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It makes available 55,000 immigrant visas annually and aims to diversify the immigrant population in the United States, by selecting applicants from countries with low numbers of immigrants in the previous five years. More than 11 million people apply for the lottery each year, which means that fewer than 1 in 200 applicants are accepted.

Many deceptive agencies charge fees from applicants or falsely claim to increase their winning chances, but in fact the only way to apply for the lottery is to complete the entry form on the Department of State website, free of charge. Applicants are chosen randomly, and only those selected in the lottery must pay a fee to continue the process. [1]

Attempts have been made to end the program since 2005.

History

Legislative and administrative history

Starting in 1986, the United States established several temporary immigrant visa programs outside of the usual immigration preferences (family members or by employment). The first program was NP-5, run from 1987 to 1989, where a limited number of visas was issued on a first-come, first-served basis. The second program was OP-1, run through a lottery from 1989 to 1991 and available for natives of countries with low levels of recent immigration to the United States. [2] [3] The third program, AA-1, from 1992 to 1994, was available for natives from a select group of countries that had been "adversely affected" by earlier immigration laws. Intentionally and in practice, people from Ireland and Northern Ireland benefited disproportionately from these programs. They were also known as the Donnelly, Berman and Morrison visas, respectively, after the sponsoring congressmen. [4] The Government of Ireland has actively supported the various lottery bills and similar legislation since their inception. [5]

The Donnelly visa benefited "several thousand Irish" (almost 4,000) and the Berman visa had some 500 Irish beneficiaries. [6] Under the three-year Morrison program (1992–94), by far the largest in size, those born in Ireland or Northern Ireland received a set-aside of 40% of all diversity visas, for a total of 48,000 set aside visas out of 120,000. Natives or citizens of Poland, via the sheer volume of applicants, received the second largest number of visas. The United Kingdom came in a distant third with some 6,000 visas in the Morrison program. [7] [8] [9] [10]

The Immigration Act of 1990 was passed with bipartisan support and signed by President George H. W. Bush. [11] The legislation established the current and permanent Diversity Visa (DV) program, where 55,000 immigrant visas are available in an annual lottery. The lottery aims to diversify the immigrant population in the United States, by selecting applicants mostly from countries with low numbers of immigrants to the United States in the previous five years. [10] From fiscal years 1999 to 2020, 5,000 of the visas from the DV program were reserved for use by the NACARA program, so the number of immigrant visas available in the lottery was reduced to 50,000. [12]

The first DV lottery, for fiscal year 1995, was named DV-1. [13] For fiscal years 1996 to 1999, the name was in the format DV-YY, where YY was the last two digits of the year. [14] [15] [16] [17] Since fiscal year 2000 the lotteries have been named in the format DV-YYYY, with the full year number. [18] The year in the name refers to the fiscal year when the immigrant visas will be given, which starts in October of the previous calendar year, and the entry period for the lottery occurs almost a year earlier. Therefore, there is a two-year difference between the lottery name and its entry period. For example, for DV-2017 (fiscal year starting in October 2016), the entry period was in 2015. [19]

Initially, the DV lottery was administered entirely by mail, and only winners were notified. The entry form moved to an online system starting in DV-2005, but still only winners were notified, by mail. [7] Starting in DV-2010, all applicants are able to verify online whether they were selected. [20] Notification of winners also by mail continued until DV-2011, but since DV-2012 it is done exclusively online. [21]

In 2011, a computer error caused a non-random selection of lottery applicants, leading the Department of State to cancel the initial result. [22] About 22,000 applicants had already been notified and were disappointed to find that their selection was canceled. The Department of State later ran a new selection after correcting the error. [23]

Criticism and repeal efforts

Criticism of the program has focused on instances of fraud, racism [24] and the random nature of the lottery, as well as criminal or terrorist actions perpetrated by certain lottery winners. [25] [26]

In 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, an Egyptian immigrant who maintained residency in United States through his wife's diversity visa, [27] killed two people and injured four others at Los Angeles International Airport before being shot to death by an El Al security guard. [28] [29] [30] This led to criticism of the lottery as a security threat. [31] [32]

Several attempts have been made to eliminate the lottery. In December 2005, the United States House of Representatives voted 273–148 to add an amendment to the border enforcement bill H.R. 4437 abolishing the DV. Opponents of the lottery said it was susceptible to fraud and was a way for terrorists to enter the country. The Senate never passed the bill. In March 2007, Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) introduced H.R. 1430, which would eliminate the Diversity Visa program. In June 2007, the U.S. House passed H.R. 2764 to eliminate funding for the program, and the Senate did likewise in September. [33]

However, the final version of this bill with amendments, signed into law on December 26, 2007, did not include the removal of funds for the program. Although H.R. 2764 was an appropriation bill and could only cut funds for the lottery during one fiscal year, this was the first time that both the House and the Senate passed a bill to halt the Diversity Visa program.

Rep. Goodlatte reintroduced his Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act (formerly H.R. 1430, now H.R. 2305) on May 7, 2009. The bill would have amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the diversity immigrant program completely, but did not pass. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) introduced the Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009 (H.R. 264) on January 7, 2009. The bill would have doubled the number of diversity visas available to 110,000 yearly. This bill did not pass. [34] A comprehensive analysis of DV lottery issues was prepared in 2011 by Congressional Research Service. [35]

In 2013, the so-called "Gang of Eight" - a bi-partisan  group of eight  United States Senators - introduced a bill that would have comprehensively reformed the immigration system. The bill would have repealed the Diversity Immigrant Visa program. [11] [36] The legislation passed the Senate, but was defeated in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives amid Republican opposition. [11]

In 2017, Sayfullo Habibullaevich Saipov, who had immigrated from Uzbekistan on a diversity visa in 2010, killed eight and injured eleven when he drove his truck down a bike path in Lower Manhattan. [37] [38] In response, President Donald Trump, who had earlier called for a return to a "merit-based" immigration system, [39] [40] called for an end to the program. [41] [42] Following Trump's call to end the program, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, indicated that diversity visa lottery recipients lack thorough vetting, something Politifact rated as false, noting that all recipients of the visa undergo background checks, security screenings, and interviews by consular officers before arrival in the U.S. [43]

Process

Requirements

To enter the lottery, applicants must have been born in an eligible country, with two exceptions: the applicant may claim the spouse's country of birth instead if desired, or a parent's country of birth if neither parent was born in the applicant's country of birth and did not legally reside there when the applicant was born. The applicant's country of residence or nationality is irrelevant to the lottery. [44]

If selected in the lottery, to qualify for the immigrant visa, applicants must have completed at least a high school education or at least two years of work experience in an occupation which requires at least two other years of training or experience. [44] They must also satisfy general requirements applicable to all immigrants, mainly related to health, criminal background and means of support. [45]

Each year, the Department of State publishes new instructions for applicants. [46]

Geographical distribution

Regions and eligible countries for the Diversity Visa lottery Eligible Ineligible Eligible Ineligible North America Asia Latin America Oceania Europe United States and its territories Africa DV eligible countries.svg
Regions and eligible countries for the Diversity Visa lottery
EligibleIneligibleEligibleIneligible
  
  North America
  
  Asia
  
  Latin America
  
 Oceania
  
  Europe
  United States and its territories
  
  Africa

The visas are distributed among six regions: Africa, Asia, Europe (Turkey, Cyprus and all countries in the former Soviet Union are allocated to Europe, even though some of them are geographically entirely in Asia), Latin America (Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America), North America (consisting only of Canada and the Bahamas), and Oceania. [44] [47] [48]

Dependent territories are treated as part of their respective sovereign countries, and disputed territories are allocated as recognized by the United States. For example, Bermuda is treated as part of the United Kingdom under Europe, the Gaza Strip is considered part of Egypt under Africa, and the West Bank is considered part of Jordan under Asia. However, there are some exceptions: Northern Ireland and Taiwan are treated as separate countries, and Macau is considered part of Portugal under Europe (even after its sovereignty returned to China in 1999). [44]

Each region that sent more than one sixth of the total number of immigrants to the United States in the previous five years is considered a "high-admission region" (currently Latin America and Asia), and each region that sent less than one sixth is a "low-admission region" (currently North America, Europe, Africa and Oceania). The proportion of diversity visas given to the low-admission group is set as the proportion of recent immigrants from the high-admission group (currently about 80%), [49] and vice versa. Among regions of the same group, the diversity visas are allocated proportionally to their population, excluding ineligible countries (those that sent more than 50,000 immigrants in the previous five years). [47]

Within each region, the visas are not allocated among individual countries. All applicants from the same region are selected randomly as a whole, for the number of visas allocated for that region, but with the limitation that no single country may receive more than 7% of the total diversity visas (3,850). [44]

Although only 55,000 diversity visas are available each year, the lottery selects about 100,000 applicants. The reason for the larger selection is to ensure that all 55,000 diversity visas are eventually given each year, as some applicants are expected to fail general immigration requirements or may decide to withdraw and not to continue the process. As a result, some lottery winners who have received notifications might not obtain visas. [50]

It is also possible that some visas remain available after all initially selected applicants are reviewed. In this case, additional applicants are selected later. For this reason, applicants who were not initially selected in the lottery should keep checking their status online periodically, until the end of the respective fiscal year. [51]

Ineligible countries

Those born in any territory that has sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years are not eligible to receive a diversity visa. For DV-2025 (the most recent lottery, with entry period in 2023), natives of the following nations are ineligible: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland and Hong Kong), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, and Vietnam. [44]

Exemptions

The term 50,000 "immigrants" refers only to people who immigrated via family and employment categories, and does not include other categories such as refugees, asylum seekers, or previous diversity immigrants. For this reason, Cuba, Guatemala, Afghanistan and Ukraine were not on the ineligible list as of 2023, despite sending over 50,000 immigrants in the previous five years. [52]

Changes

The first program was in fiscal year 1995, and the following 12 countries were ineligible from the start: Canada, China (mainland), Dominican Republic, El Salvador, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom and its dependent territories (except Northern Ireland and Hong Kong), and Vietnam. [53] Since then, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, Honduras, Nigeria, Pakistan and Venezuela have been added to the ineligible list and are currently on it, Taiwan and the United Kingdom have been removed from it, and Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Poland and Russia have been on and off the ineligible list, reflecting shifting levels of immigration from these countries.

Macau was ineligible as part of China only for DV-2002, whose entry period (October 2000) was after the transfer of sovereignty of Macau from Portugal to China (December 1999) but before enactment of the Macau Policy Act (December 2000), which specified that U.S. law would treat Macau as it did before the transfer. [54] Hong Kong was considered as a separate country for the lottery and eligible from the start, but became ineligible as part of China from DV-2022. [55]

Historical eligibility for the Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery, by fiscal year
Country1995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China [lower-alpha 1] NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia YesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoYesYesYes
Flag of Haiti.svg  Haiti YesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of Honduras.svg  Honduras YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNo
Flag of India.svg  India NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan YesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of Peru.svg  Peru YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYes
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland YesYesYesNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Taiwan NoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom [lower-alpha 2] NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYes
Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNo
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
OthersYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes

Statistics

Applicants (including dependents) [50] [56] [57] [58]
RegionTotalDV-2024DV-2023DV-2022DV-2021DV-2020DV-2019DV-2018DV-2017DV-2016DV-2015DV-2014DV-2013DV-2012DV-2011DV-2010DV-2009DV-2008DV-2007
Africa105,527,954———4,877,93111,315,82610,877,79110,714,8819,063,6698,161,2056,586,3027,500,5436,783,6996,304,2195,812,1745,105,3024,372,5604,150,7593,901,093
Asia64,776,672———2,353,2803,548,1653,289,6654,445,3283,867,6133,516,1232,720,5782,384,1681,863,16910,102,1857,870,8966,175,4526,401,1723,506,0732,732,805
Europe63,537,717———3,915,5577,185,4567,620,6777,068,7925,820,8085,111,8884,731,8714,434,2103,672,4643,022,4732,593,0392,154,5392,174,6772,120,8831,910,383
Latin America6,663,590———654,1951,090,751594,954807,083539,398731,730315,667266,272217,443200,712193,932126,168192,447243,694489,144
North America [lower-alpha 3] 47,209———1,6722,7482,8643,5413,5814,2633,5853,6573,3563,7173,7932,6243,1932,6471,968
Oceania602,107———28,07239,60839,10248,98849,51748,15539,88445,12037,22438,96237,67433,74340,96440,26034,834
Total254,346,545——13,191,29611,830,70723,182,55422,425,05323,088,61319,344,58617,573,36414,397,88714,633,97012,577,35519,672,26816,511,50813,597,82813,185,01310,064,3169,070,227
Selected applicants (including dependents) [50] [59] [60] [61] [56] [57] [58]
RegionTotalDV-2024DV-2023DV-2022DV-2021DV-2020DV-2019DV-2018DV-2017DV-2016DV-2015DV-2014DV-2013DV-2012DV-2011DV-2010DV-2009DV-2008DV-2007
Africa887,36855,03049,11949,00353,64931,56238,24749,39238,50045,03458,00061,94352,08050,00051,00454,00353,97952,82443,999
Asia321,86327,96024,04424,00125,40815,94115,61915,99713,49915,00220,00223,27016,04515,00214,99915,00114,00214,14211,929
Europe620,73150,16140,06539,99945,00230,79430,00641,70628,50027,01140,00046,58833,08831,00130,99929,80327,92126,14921,938
Latin America57,8105,3313,5153,5015,5014,1892,1824,9951,9513,0003,9994,6202,2062,0022,0011,9821,8931,8453,097
North America [lower-alpha 3] 300151616292018151016142316151818121712
Oceania42,2214,4502,5032,5012,8151,3781,5383,8631,4501,5003,4994,2152,1932,0011,6001,8031,8011,7131,398
Total1,930,293142,947119,262119,021132,40483,88487,610115,96883,91091,563125,514140,659105,628100,021100,621102,61099,60896,69082,373
Proportion of applicants who were selected
RegionTotalDV-2024DV-2023DV-2022DV-2021DV-2020DV-2019DV-2018DV-2017DV-2016DV-2015DV-2014DV-2013DV-2012DV-2011DV-2010DV-2009DV-2008DV-2007
Africa0.84%———1.10%0.28%0.35%0.46%0.42%0.55%0.88%0.83%0.77%0.79%0.88%1.06%1.23%1.27%1.13%
Asia0.50%———1.08%0.45%0.47%0.36%0.35%0.43%0.74%0.98%0.86%0.15%0.19%0.24%0.22%0.40%0.44%
Europe0.98%———1.15%0.43%0.39%0.59%0.49%0.53%0.85%1.05%0.90%1.03%1.20%1.38%1.28%1.23%1.15%
Latin America0.87%———0.84%0.38%0.37%0.62%0.36%0.41%1.27%1.74%1.01%1.00%1.03%1.57%0.98%0.76%0.63%
North America [lower-alpha 3] 0.64%———1.73%0.73%0.63%0.42%0.28%0.38%0.39%0.63%0.48%0.40%0.47%0.69%0.38%0.64%0.61%
Oceania7.01%———10.03%3.48%3.93%7.89%2.93%3.11%8.77%9.34%5.89%5.14%4.25%5.34%4.40%4.25%4.01%
Total0.76%——0.90%1.12%0.36%0.39%0.50%0.43%0.52%0.87%0.96%0.84%0.51%0.61%0.75%0.76%0.96%0.91%
Applicants (including dependents) to the Diversity Visa lottery (for most recent eligible year with available data), as a percentage of each country's population >2.0% 1.0-2.0% 0.5-1.0% 0.2-0.5% 0.1-0.2% <0.1% United States and its territories Not eligible for any year with available data DV applicants.png
Applicants (including dependents) to the Diversity Visa lottery (for most recent eligible year with available data), as a percentage of each country's population
  >2.0%
  1.0–2.0%
  0.5–1.0%
  0.2–0.5%
  0.1–0.2%
  <0.1%
  United States and its territories
  Not eligible for any year with available data

Deceptive agencies

There is no charge to enter the Diversity Visa lottery, and the only way to do so is by completing and sending the electronic form available at the U.S. Department of State website during the registration period. However, there are numerous companies and websites that charge a fee in order to complete the form for the applicant. The Department of State and the Federal Trade Commission have warned that some of these businesses falsely claim to increase someone's chances of winning the lottery, or that they are affiliated with the U.S. government. [65]

There have also been numerous cases of fraudulent emails and letters which falsely claim to have been sent by the Department of State and that the recipient has been granted a permanent resident card. These messages prompt the recipients to transfer a "visa processing fee" as a prerequisite for obtaining a "guaranteed" green card. The messages are sometimes sent to people who never participated in the lottery and can look trustworthy as they contain the recipient's exact name and contact details and what appears to be a legal notice.

The Department of State has issued a warning against the scammers. It notes that any email claiming the recipient to be a winner of the lottery is fake because the Department has never notified and will not notify winners by email. The Department has urged recipients of such messages to notify the Internet Crime Complaint Center about the scam. [66]

The office of inspector general has identified multiple problems with DV lottery in several countries, including Ukraine, Ghana, Albania in embassy inspection reports. [67] [68] [69]

According to testimony from Stephen A. Edson before the House Judiciary Committee, "in Bangladesh, for example, one agent is reported to have enrolled an entire phone book so that he could then either extort money from winning applicants who had never entered the program to begin with or sell their winning slots to others." [70]

Impact

Economic

Labor economists and others have credited the Diversity Visa program for providing economic benefits to the United States and enhancing the competitiveness of the U.S. labor force. [71] [72] [73]

Research by Lewis and several other economists shows that diverse and low-skilled immigrants lift the wages of native-born workers, as those immigrants are less substitutable to native-born workers. [71]

Charles Kenny, an economist at the Center for Global Development, noted that research by Harvard economist Alberto Alesina found that countries with a higher share of foreign-born populations tended to have more innovation and higher incomes. [74]

Security

In 2004, the State Department's deputy inspector general warned that there were security risks to granting visas to winners from countries with ties to terrorism. [75] A 2007 Government Accountability Office report however found no evidence that recipients of diversity visas posed a threat. [75]

According to PolitiFact, "there is at least one documented example of an individual who migrated through the diversity visa system and was later arrested on terrorism-related charges. But it is unclear that the diversity lottery has historically been used as a strategic entry point for terrorists." [76]

The uncle of Akayed Ullah, the man who set off a bomb on a New York City Subway platform in 2017, won a diversity lottery, which enabled him to bring his nephew to the United States under the family reunification provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. [77]

Experts on immigration note that the chances of winning the lottery are low and those who do win the lottery still have to undergo background checks and vetting, which makes the diversity lottery program a poor choice for immigrants considering launching terrorist attacks in the United States. [76]

According to the Cato Institute, immigrants from the countries with the highest percentage of diversity visas have vastly lower incarceration rates than native-born Americans. [78]

Further reading

Notes

  1. ↑ Including Macau only for DV-2002, and Hong Kong only from DV-2022.
  2. ↑ Excluding Northern Ireland. Including dependent territories except Hong Kong.
  3. 1 2 3 4 The only eligible country in North America is The Bahamas. Canada is not eligible for the program.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration Act of 1990</span> US law reforming the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952</span> American immigration law

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, also known as the McCarran–Walter Act, codified under Title 8 of the United States Code, governs immigration to and citizenship in the United States. It came into effect on June 27, 1952. The legislation consolidated various immigration laws into a single text. Officially titled the Immigration and Nationality Act, it is often referred to as the 1952 law to distinguish it from the 1965 legislation. This law increased the quota for Europeans outside Northern and Western Europe, gave the Department of State authority to reject entries affecting native wages, eliminated 1880s bans on contract labor, set a minimum quota of one hundred visas per country, and promoted family reunification by exempting citizens' children and spouses from numerical caps.

A K-1 visa is a visa issued to the fiancé or fiancée of a United States citizen to enter the United States. A K-1 visa requires a foreigner to marry his or her U.S. citizen petitioner within 90 days of entry, or depart the United States. Once the couple marries, the foreign citizen can adjust status to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Although a K-1 visa is legally classified as a non-immigrant visa, it usually leads to important immigration benefits and is therefore often processed by the Immigrant Visa section of United States embassies and consulates worldwide.

The E-3 visa is a United States visa for which only citizens of Australia are eligible. It was created by an Act of the United States Congress as a result of the Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA), although it is not formally a part of the AUSFTA. The legislation creating the E-3 visa was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on May 11, 2005. It is widely believed to have grown out of the negotiation of a trade deal between the US and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parole (United States immigration)</span> Official permission to enter and remain temporarily in the U.S.

Parole, in the immigration laws of the United States, generally refers to official permission to enter and remain temporarily in the United States, under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), without formal admission, and while remaining an applicant for admission.

The USA PATRIOT Act was passed by the United States Congress in 2001 as a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. It has ten titles, each containing numerous sections. Title IV: Protecting the Border aims to prevent terrorism in the USA through immigration regulations. The provisions of the title generally increase the difficulty of entering the country for those known to have, or suspected of having, terrorist intent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visa policy of the United States</span> Policy on permits required to enter the United States and its unincorporated territories

Visitors to the United States must obtain a visa from one of the U.S. diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt or Visa Waiver Program countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban Adjustment Act</span> 1966 US law establishing a standard for Cuban migrants and refugees to become citizens

The Cuban Adjustment Act, Public Law 89-732, is a United States federal law enacted on November 2, 1966. Passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, the law applies to any native or citizen of Cuba who has been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States after January 1, 1959 and has been physically present for at least one year, and is admissible to the United States as a permanent resident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B visa</span> Visitor visa for the United States

A B visa is one of a category of non-immigrant visas issued by the United States government to foreign nationals seeking entry for a temporary period. The two types of B visa are the B-1 visa, issued to those seeking entry for business purposes, and the B-2 visa, issued to those seeking entry for tourism or other non-business purposes. In practice, the two visa categories are usually combined and issued as a "B-1/B-2 visa" valid for a temporary visit for either business or pleasure, or a combination of the two. Nationals of certain countries do not usually need to obtain a visa for these purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reed Amendment (immigration)</span> US legal instrument

The Reed Amendment, also known as the Expatriate Exclusion Clause, created a provision of United States federal law attempting to impose an entry ban on certain former U.S. citizens based on their reasons for renouncing U.S. citizenship. Notably, entry can be denied to persons who renounced their U.S. citizenship to avoid paying income taxes. The United States is one of two countries in the world that taxes its citizens' income earned abroad for citizens whose primary residence is abroad. The other country to do so is Eritrea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013</span> Proposed immigration reform bill

The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 was a proposed immigration reform bill introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) in the United States Senate. The bill was co-sponsored by the other seven members of the "Gang of Eight", a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators who wrote and negotiated the bill. It was introduced in the Senate on April 16, 2013, during the 113th United States Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive Order 13769</span> United States Executive Order limiting refugees from Muslim-majority countries

Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, labeled the "Muslim ban" by Donald Trump and his supporters and critics, and commonly known as such, or commonly referred to as the Trump travel ban, or Trump Muslim travel ban, was an executive order by President Trump. Except for the extent to which it was blocked by various courts, it was in effect from January 27, 2017, until March 6, 2017, when it was superseded by Executive Order 13780, a second order sharing the title "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trump travel ban</span> Ban by U.S. President Trump

The Trump travel ban denotes a series of executive actions taken by Donald Trump as President of the United States, beginning with Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAISE Act</span> Proposed bill first introduced in the United States Senate

The RAISE Act is a bill first introduced in the United States Senate in 2017. Co-sponsored by Republican senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue, the bill seeks to reduce levels of legal immigration to the United States by 50% by halving the number of green cards issued. The bill would also dramatically reduce family-based immigration pathways; impose a cap of 50,000 refugee admissions a year; end the visa diversity lottery; and eliminate the current demand-driven model of employment-based immigration and replace it with a points system. The bill received the support of President Donald Trump, who promoted a revised version of the bill in August 2017, and was opposed by Democrats, immigrant rights groups, and some Republicans.

Federal policy oversees and regulates immigration to the United States and citizenship of the United States. The United States Congress has authority over immigration policy in the United States, and it delegates enforcement to the Department of Homeland Security. Historically, the United States went through a period of loose immigration policy in the early-19th century followed by a period of strict immigration policy in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Policy areas related to the immigration process include visa policy, asylum policy, and naturalization policy. Policy areas related to illegal immigration include deferral policy and removal policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021</span> 2021 United States legislative bill

The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 was a legislative bill that was proposed by President Joe Biden on his first day in office. It was formally introduced in the House by Representative Linda Sánchez. It died with the ending of the 117th Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015</span> United States counter-terrorism act

The Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 is an Act of Congress that adds some requirements and restrictions to the Visa Waiver Program, which allows nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States without a visa. Among other requirements, the act disqualifies those who had previously been in certain countries of security concern or who are dual nationals of those countries, making them ineligible to travel to the United States without a visa under the program.

References

  1. ↑ "Prepare for the Interview". travel.state.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  2. ↑ "The Irish Roots of the Diversity Visa Lottery". Politico.com. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  3. ↑ Alvarez, Priscilla (November 2017). "The Diversity Visa Program Was Created to Help Irish Immigrants". Theatlantic.com. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  4. ↑ "Green card lottery invented to help the Irish - under Trump, its luck may have run out". Independent.ie. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  5. ↑ "Seeking reform in an era of walls, bars and bans — Irish Echo". Irishecho.com. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "What's Happened?". Irishabroad.com. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  7. 1 2 DV Lottery Timeline, preceden.com; accessed November 5, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Immigrants to get visas by lottery", The New York Times , March 1, 1989.
  9. ↑ "For illegal Irish immigrants, a time to test that luck", The New York Times , March 17, 1989.
  10. 1 2 Linda Dowling Almeida Irish Immigrants in New York City, 1945–1995, Indiana University Press, 2001.
  11. 1 2 3 "Was Diversity Visa program ..." @politifact. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
  12. ↑ 9 FAM 502.6, U.S. Department of State; accessed November 5, 2017.
  13. ↑ Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery (DV-1) Results Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine , United States Department of State, October 19, 1994.
  14. ↑ Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery (DV-96) Results Archived 2016-07-30 at the Wayback Machine , United States Department of State.
  15. ↑ Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery (DV-97) Results Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine , United States Department of State, September 13, 1996.
  16. ↑ Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery (DV-98) Results Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine , United States Department of State, September 10, 1997.
  17. ↑ Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery (DV-99) Results Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine , United States Department of State, May 6, 1998.
  18. ↑ Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery (DV-2000) Results Archived 2016-06-17 at the Wayback Machine , United States Department of State, May 24, 1999.
  19. ↑ Instructions for the 2017 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2017), United States Department of State.
  20. ↑ Department of State Announces Diversity Visa Lottery (DV-2010) Registration, United States Department of State, November 17, 2008.
  21. ↑ Instructions for the 2012 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2012) Archived 2016-12-29 at the Wayback Machine , United States Department of State; accessed November 5, 2017.
  22. ↑ State Department computer error halts immigration lottery, Washington Post, 13 May 2011.
  23. ↑ Green card lottery: US reviews 'diversity visa' glitch, BBC, 6 June 2011.
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  29. ↑ Sacchetti, Maria (November 1, 2017). "Here's what you need to know about the Diversity Visa Lottery Program". Washington Post. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Suspect entered US via Diversity Visa program". Houston Chronicle. Associated Press. November 1, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  31. ↑ "The Diversity Lottery Do We Need It?". ABC News. 30 November 2012.
  32. ↑ "Diversity Visa program: What you need to know". foxnews.com. November 1, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  33. ↑ VOA News Archived November 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  34. ↑ "Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009 (H.R. 264): Title X—Diversity Visas". United States House of Representatives. Congress.gov. January 7, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  35. ↑ Ruth Ellen Wasem, Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Issues, Congressional Research Service (April 1, 2011).
  36. ↑ "NYC terror attack: Sayfullo Saipov was here on diversity visa, Trump says. What is that?". USA Today. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  37. ↑ Mueller, Benjamin; Rashbaum, William K.; Baker, Al (31 October 2017). "Terror Attack Kills 8 and Injures 11 in Manhattan". The New York Times . Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  38. ↑ Naylor, Brian. "FACT CHECK: Trump Points Blame At Chuck Schumer After N.Y. Terror Attack". NPR.
  39. ↑ Blanco, Octavio; Kopan, Tal (3 March 2017). "Trump's merit-based immigration system: Who would get in?".
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  41. ↑ Tal Kopan (November 1, 2017). "What is the Diversity Visa lottery?". CNN.
  42. ↑ Hawkins, Derek; Schmidt, Samantha; Lac, J. Freedom du (1 November 2017). "'A Chuck Schumer beauty': Trump calls for end to Diversity Visa program". Washington Post.
  43. ↑ Miriam Valverde (November 2, 2017). "Diversity visa applicants are vetted, despite contrary claim from White House press secretary". PolitiFact.
  44. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Instructions for the 2025 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2025), U.S. Department of State.
  45. ↑ Ineligibilities and waivers: laws, U.S. Department of State.
  46. ↑ "Diversity Visa Instructions". travel.state.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
  47. 1 2 Immigration and Nationality Act 203(c), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; accessed November 5, 2017.
  48. ↑ Wilson, Jill H. (February 13, 2018). Diversity Immigrants' Regions and Countries of Origin: Fact Sheet (PDF). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  49. ↑ U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents: 2016, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, December 2017; accessed December 18, 2017.
  50. 1 2 3 Diversity Visa Program Statistics, United States Department of State.
  51. ↑ "Important Notice For Diversity Visa (DV) 2017 Entrants". U.S. Embassy in Romania. 9 September 2016.
  52. ↑ Lawful Permanent Residents, United States Department of Homeland Security, 21 August 2023.
  53. ↑ Registration for the Diversity Immigrant (DV-1) Visa Program, Federal Register , 11 April 1994.
  54. ↑ Registration for the Diversity Immigrant (DV-2002) Visa Program, Federal Register , 31 July 2000.
  55. ↑ Hong Kong Executive Order, National Law Review, 22 July 2020.
  56. 1 2 Visa bulletin for August 2021, U.S. Department of State, 8 July 2021.
  57. 1 2 Visa bulletin for August 2022, U.S. Department of State, 1 July 2022.
  58. 1 2 Visa bulletin for September 2023, U.S. Department of State, 4 August 2023.
  59. ↑ Visa bulletin for August 2018, U.S. Department of State, 10 July 2018.
  60. ↑ Visa bulletin for August 2019, U.S. Department of State, 5 July 2019.
  61. ↑ Visa bulletin for September 2020, U.S. Department of State, 10 August 2020.
  62. ↑ Immigrant number use for visa issuances and adjustments of status in the diversity immigrant category, fiscal years 1995–2003, U.S. Department of State.
  63. ↑ Immigrant number use for visa issuances and adjustments of status in the diversity immigrant category, fiscal years 2004–2013, U.S. Department of State.
  64. ↑ Immigrant number use for visa issuances and adjustments of status in the diversity immigrant category, fiscal years 2013–2022, U.S. Department of State.
  65. ↑ Diversity Visa Lottery Scams, U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
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  73. ↑ Jeremy L. Neufeld, The Myth of the Unskilled Diversity Visa Immigrant, Niskanen Center (November 20, 2019).
  74. ↑ "The U.S. Can't Afford to Scrap the Visa Lottery". Bloomberg.com. 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
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