With the green card lottery opening registration date fast approaching, it seems like a good time to review the current state of affairs of the annual diversity visa program. But first a quick primer:
The "green card lottery” is well-paved path for immigrating to the United States. Originally sponsored by Senator Edward Kennedy to benefit Irish immigrants, it now provides approximately 50,000 visas per year randomly to applicants from countries that have not sent large numbers of people to the United States in the past. The program excludes those born in countries like Mexico, Canada, India, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Pakistan, mainland China, and a few other countries that are already well represented in terms of immigration in the U.S. The only requirement for entry is a high school education and no criminal record.
Aside from the computer fiasco this year that mistakenly notified over 20,000 registrants that they won, the program has been extremely popular and successful with nearly 15 million applicants worldwide from last year’s DV-2012.
Each year the conservative elements of Congress try to kill the diversity visa program. Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) introduced the “Advanced Degree Bill” in 2008 to eliminate the lottery and reallocate those visas to international students who receive an advanced degree from a U.S. university. The most recent attempt is Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s (R-VA) so-called Security and Fairness (SAFE) for America Act, H.R. 704, introduced February 15, 2011. The text of the bill is available at: www.myusai.org/immigration-reports.html (it is currently #72 on the list). The Senate version is Senate Bill 332 introduced on February 14 by Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
The question is will any of these proposals be successful this year?
The Goodlatte bill has the highest probability of passing since the House Judiciary Committee recently approved the bill for a future vote before the full House of Representatives by a vote of 19 to 11.
Critics of the green card lottery program say it is prone to misrepresentation and fraud. However, they fail to point out the steps taken by the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs to combat fraud. They also claim is a national security threat because it admits those from countries like Syria who are “State Sponsors of Terrorism.” However, the actual risk to national security is miniscule. Those against the program typically use the isolated example of Hesham Mohamed Ali Hedayet, who killed two and wounded three at Los Angeles International Airport in July of 2002. Hedayet was an Egyptain national who came to USA through the green card lottery.
Here is a good review of the SAFE for America Act from AILA which dispells many of the mistaken notions of the program.
Without the lottery, there will be few options left for those from many countries, particularly in Africa, to enter the USA. Some think that with the elimination of the program the numbers will be transferred to the EB (employment) or FB (family-based) immigration categories. Don’t bet on it. Restrictionist groups like NumbersUSA and FAIR are lobbying hard to restrict immigration across the board, including but not limited to, constitutionally questionable proposals to eliminate birthright citizenship.
The fact is that the lottery is a very small program that admits only 5% of the total number of immigrants into the United States. But it seems to have a bull’s eye painted on it by the far right who like to use the issue to placate their xenophobic constituents into believing they are gutting the program to save jobs for American citizens while simultaneously wrapping themselves around the false cloak of “fighting terrorism.” Don’t be fooled.
My prediction is that Goodlatte’s bill may actually pass the House of Representatives this year (witness the boneheaded budget deficit limit extension debate) but it will be defeated by the Democratic-controlled Senate. Too bad a real Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill is still stalled by the Party of No.
Here in Albuquerque I spoke with several winners recently who won the lottery, including one who informed me that his wife, an F-2 visa holder, won DV-2012. If Issa’s bill passes, he could also obtain U.S. permanent residency if he completes his advanced degree from the University of New Mexico. (According to the UNM Office of International Programs and Studies, UNM had 917 international students enrolled in 2009. Of these, 574 or 63% were enrolled in graduate programs.) However, the Issa bill would skew the proportions of immigrants from foreign countries to those with the highest educational budgets like China and India. This would ultimately reverse the gains of the green card lottery program.
Comments