A Ticket to the American Dream...

By Daniel Hamon

Much discussion has taken place in the public arena regarding the nature of U.S. immigration policy. Most recently, the debate revolved around proposals for comprehensive immigration reform. In the midst of sometimes heated arguments, few people were made aware that every year the American people give 50,000 permanent immigrant visas to people from countries that have had low immigration to the United States.  This is called the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program and is more commonly known as the Visa Lottery.

Authorized by the Immigration Act of 1990, the objective of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV) is to increase diversity in immigration by requiring that visas from this program are only available to applicants from countries that have sent fewer than fifty thousand immigrants to the United States in the prior 5 years. These visas are in addition to the one million permanent resident visas granted every year.

It is commonly known as the Visa Lottery because the recipients for the visas are selected at random by a computer drawing. Upon their selection, the “winners” need to clear all background check requirements in place for permanent immigrant applicants for final admission to the United States.

The top recipients, by region, in number of visas issued in the government's fiscal year 2007 were:

Africa:

• Egypt, Ethiopia, and Nigeria

Asia:

• Bangladesh and Nepal

Europe:

• Ukraine and Bulgaria

North America:

• The Bahamas

Oceania:

• Fiji and Australia

Latin America:

• Peru and Brazil

While over 85% of permanent visas granted in 2007 were due to family sponsorship and employment preferences, the only requirement for the Diversity Visa is that the applicant have the equivalent of a high school education or two years work experience approved by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Visa Lottery is a tremendous opportunity for those who would otherwise have very little chance at immigrating to the United States and is a testament to the American value of openness and diversity in immigration.

Comments

[James Chan, Ph.D.]

I am an example of Dan Hamon's article on "the American Dream." I came from Hong Kong in 1970 to seek my graduate degrees in America. After I had received my Ph.D. degree in 1977 from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, I applied to become a permanent resident in the United States. It took me 5 years, 3 lawyers, and 1,000 letters to American CEOs, including praying at the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, to get my U.S. permanent residency status (and later my citizenship). Despite the ordeal, I don't regret being a U.S. citizen. America gives freedom to those who dare to seek it; but the seeker must endure the trials and tribulations to earn such freedom. There is no free lunch, even in America. James Chan, Philadelphia.

[James Chan, Ph.D.]

I came to the U.S. in 1971. Sorry for the typographical error. James Chan, Ph.D.

[Daniel Hamon]

Some years back, I had the pleasure of reading James Chan's book: Spare Room Tycoon: The Seventy Lessons of Sane Self-Employment. A wonderful primer on how to succeed independently. My favorite quote from James' book: "My empire is small, but I do rule it. And I would rather be captain of my dinghy than a junior officer on the Titanic.

I digress from the topic of my post to suggest that my readers consider the message in James' book as an opportunity in these turbulent times.