{"id":924,"date":"2017-11-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norrismclaughlin.com\/ib\/2017\/11\/14\/raffle-green-card-diversity-visa-program\/"},"modified":"2017-11-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-11-14T00:00:00","slug":"raffle-green-card-diversity-visa-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norrismclaughlin.com\/ib\/green-card\/raffle-green-card-diversity-visa-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Raffle for a Green Card: The Diversity Visa Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a madman plowed a rented pick-up truck down a bike path along Manhattan\u2019s Hudson River killing eight people and injuring several more<\/a> in New York\u2019s deadliest terror attack since September 11, 2001, President Donald Trump took to Twitter. \u00a0Yes, he took to Twitter<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In a November 1, 2017, tweet, President Trump declared that the terrorist truck driver entered the United States through the Diversity Visa Program and, again, reiterated his plan to shift the America\u2019s immigration system to one that is merit based, rather than a “lottery,” or, yes, a raffle for Lawful Permanent Residence (the “Green Card”).<\/p>\n

Political pundits quipped that the President was using the terror attack to advance an anti-immigration political platform.\u00a0 Others, however, began asking what exactly the Diversity Visa Program is.\u00a0 Is it really a lottery?\u00a0 The simple answer: Yes, it is a lottery.\u00a0 It is a random drawing where the winners step ahead of millions waiting in line for their turn to enter the United States under employment or family immigrant visas.<\/p>\n

In 1990, former President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Immigration Act of 1990, which created the “Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery.”\u00a0 The purpose was to develop a more diverse immigrant pool by allowing the State Department to offer 50,000 visas each year to immigrants from countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States.\u00a0 According to State Department statistics<\/a>, over 1,000,000 immigrants have entered the United States under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery since its 1995 effective date.<\/p>\n

Every year, individuals from across the world register, without charge, for the lottery through the State Department\u2019s website<\/a>.\u00a0 The 50,000 visas are then distributed among six geographic areas, with no more than 3,500 to any single country.\u00a0 Any lottery player who hails from a country that has had over 50,000 natives immigrate to the United States over the last five years is ineligible for program participation (i.e<\/em>., Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom, and Vietnam).<\/p>\n

Once all lottery participants are registered, the State Department conducts a randomized computer drawing and the lucky 50,000 are selected.<\/p>\n

Once picked, the winner need show only that he or she has either (1) successfully completed a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to a high school diploma; or (2) at least two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform.\u00a0 After a brief security check, the lottery winner is officially a Lawful Permanent Resident.\u00a0 Yes, that\u2019s all it takes.\u00a0 Kind of crazy, huh?\u00a0 It really is a raffle for a green card.<\/em><\/p>\n

To register for the 2019 Diversity Visa Lottery, visit the State Department\u2019s Diversity Visa Lottery Web Portal<\/a>.\u00a0 To learn more about the Diversity Visa Lottery Program or any other immigration matter, feel free to contact me, Raymond G. Lahoud<\/a>, at rglahoud@nmmlaw.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a madman plowed a rented pick-up truck down a bike path along Manhattan\u2019s Hudson River killing eight people and injuring several more in New York\u2019s deadliest terror attack since September 11, 2001, President Donald Trump took to Twitter. \u00a0Yes, he took to Twitter. In a November 1, 2017, tweet, President Trump declared that the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,22],"tags":[69,70,65,71,56],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRaffle for a Green Card: The Diversity Visa Program - Immigration Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/norrismclaughlin.com\/ib\/green-card\/raffle-green-card-diversity-visa-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Raffle for a Green Card: The Diversity Visa Program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After a madman plowed a rented pick-up truck down a bike path along Manhattan\u2019s Hudson River killing eight people and injuring several more in New York\u2019s deadliest terror attack since September 11, 2001, President Donald Trump took to Twitter. \u00a0Yes, he took to Twitter. 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