Diversity Visa Lottery Program

‘I feel so sad:’ More from the lottery visa 22,000

Screen shot from "22,000 Tears" Facebook page

A post earlier this week on how the Diversity Visa Lottery Program is under fire following a computer-glitch fiasco last May has yielded, perhaps not surprisingly, some emotional comments on this website from people describing themselves as would-be winners.

Roughly 22,000 people in various countries, including some here on other visas, were informed in May that they had won the federal green card lottery, which makes up to 55,000 immigrant visas available to winners each year. Soon afterward, they learned from the U.S. State Department that there had been an error and the results would be voided. Angry would-be immigrants mounted a social media campaign that included a Facebook page called “22,000 Tears.” Some filed a class action lawsuit, but it was recently dismissed and a new drawing was held.

Sad but kind of sweet was this exchange in the comments section. Mohamed Toham wrote:

I FEEL SO SAD BECAUSE OF THE NEW RESULTS
BECAUSE I’M ONE OF THOSE 22.000
MY DREAM HAVE BEEN DESTROYED

To which Egor replied:

I hope you will be alright.

A bill to get rid of the lottery program has cleared the House Judiciary Committee and now goes to the full House for a vote. I’ll be discussing the visa lottery, the scratched 2012 results, and the bill’s prospects tomorrow morning on KPCC’s Madeleine Brand Show.

FILED UNDER: Politics/Justice, Diversity Visa Lottery Program, Green cards, Madeleine Brand Show, Visa lottery

July 18, 2011 | 11:19 AM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

A rough week for the diversity visa lottery and its non-winners

Screen shot from "22,000 Tears" Facebook page

It has not been a good week for the non-winners of the 2012 federal green card lottery known as the Diversity Visa Lottery Program.

In May, roughly 22,000 people around the world who had applied for the visa lottery operated by the U.S. State Department were notified they had won – then were quickly notified again that no, they had not, as there had been a computer error and the results would be voided. Several filed a class-action lawsuit to halt a new lottery; others mounted a social media campaign to have their results recognized.

Last week, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit. A new lottery has since been held. And this Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee will be marking up a bill that aims to get rid of the 20-year-old lottery program, which has long faced opposition. Yale Law School professor Peter H. Schuck condemned it last week in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece:

A green card to the U.S. is one of the most valuable pieces of paper in the history of the world. So why would we want to give roughly 5% of them each year to people who, for all we know, have nothing more to offer America than a high school education, a winning ticket and (in many cases) an agent they paid to help them game the lottery system?

None of this is stopping some of those who were told erroneously that they had won, whose hopes were pinned on the news. On the “22,000 Tears” Facebook page, some people vowed to keep fighting for a reversal of the State Department’s decision to void their results.

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FILED UNDER: Politics/Justice, 000 Tears, 22, Diversity Visa Lottery Program, U.S. State Department, Visa lottery

June 7, 2011 | 12:23 PM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

From readers, more ‘tears’ over scrapped visa lottery results

A post yesterday told the story of “22,000 Tears,” a Facebook page set up by disappointed would-be immigrants to the United States who learned in early May that they had won immigrant visas in an annual federal lottery, then were soon informed there had been a computer error and that the lottery results would be voided.

Some 22,000 people were left in the lurch, hence the name of the Facebook group, through which some have been circulating a petition, posting protest videos and connecting from the countries they call home. Not surprisingly, the visa lottery story has made the global rounds. (I discussed it yesterday in an interview with the BBC.) And now, some readers who identify themselves as being among those whose hopes were crushed have been posting messages on this site.

Nadooor82 wrote:

in May 1 was announced as a result of random immigration, I was among the winners of the immigration I was very happy 13 days of happiness, but suddenly a shock large when U.S. State Department announced canceled results because error in the computer, Crashed our feelings because of this decision we are a human being

I wish that United States of America to consider to our feelings and we are confident trust in the justice of heaven (thanks)

Cressnageeb wrote:

please help us we are respect U.S. law and respect U.S. government and we respect U.S.people and we sure that America respect our fealling and our dreaming please help us.

Bechfarouk wrote:

we trust in us justice therefore am sur that we will be notified as a winners

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FILED UNDER: Politics/Justice, Diversity Visa Lottery Program, Kenneth White, U.S. State Department, Visa lottery

June 7, 2011 | 8:05 AM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

Who had to wait the longest for a green card this month?

Nations with current longest waits for family-sponsored based immigrant visas: The priority dates shown are when applicants now up for processing filed their petitions. (Source: Visa Bulletin for May 2011, U.S. Department of State)

Now that it’s June, it’s time for another look at the U.S. State Department’s monthly Visa Bulletin. Who has been waiting the longest time for an immigrant visa this month?

As is the norm, the line of people being sponsored by relatives to come to the United States legally has been inching along slowly. Like last month, those who have endured the longest wait are hopeful immigrants from the Philippines who filed their petitions back in the late 1980s.

Here’s the breakdown of the top four categories who have endured the longest waits:

1) Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens from the Philippines, a wait of more than 23 years (petitions filed May 1, 1988).

2) Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens from the Philippines, a wait of more than 19 years (petitions filed March 8, 1992)

3) Unmarried adult (21 and over) sons and daughters of U.S. legal permanent residents from Mexico, a wait of close to 19 years (petitions filed August 22, 1992)

4) Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens from Mexico, a wait of close to 19 years (petitions filed November 15, 1992)

How it works: Each month, immigrant visas technically become available to those whose priority dates, meaning the dates on which their petitions were filed, are listed in the bulletin. Being on the monthly priority date list is great news for those waiting, but the dates are subject to change, and often do. This means that some who thought their long wait was over must continue waiting.

Why are the waits so long? Every nation is allotted the same percentage of immigrant visas from a pool of family and employer-based visas available each year, regardless of the demand from any individual nation. For those waiting in countries represented by large immigrant populations here – such as Mexico, the Philippines, China and India – there is an especially high demand for family reunification, and the wait for an immigrant visa can take a very long time.

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FILED UNDER: Politics/Justice, Diversity Visa Lottery Program, U.S. State Department, Visa Bulletin, Visa lottery

June 6, 2011 | 12:27 PM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

Disappointed winners of scratched visa lottery cry ’22,000 Tears’

Last month, when the U.S. State Department scratched the results of its 2012 green card lottery due to a computer glitch, thousands of hopeful immigrants who had thought they’d won a chance to live in the United States were crushed to learn they wouldn’t be coming here after all.

So some of them took their disappointment online.

The members of a Facebook group of irked lottery winners called “22,000 Tears” have been rejoicing news that the federal government plans to investigate the visa lottery program, and have been taking some of the credit. The page is named for the roughly 22,000 people who were notified they had won the lottery before being told the results would be voided, and that they would have to enter the drawing once more.

The Facebook page was launched in protest, complete with several videos and a petition urging supporters to sign it “so the US Goverment can do something about it,” as the petition page reads. After news stories of a planned investigation began appearing, members on the page today posted elated messages from their native countries:

“God is on our side, we’ll retain our victory. i honestly like this piece of news. keep up wit ur contributions and efforts. thank you all!” wrote Rozes Midas from Nigeria.

“Guys….. I AM PROUD OF US!” wrote another member named Marianno Gorgeski.

“we are doing our best regardless of dos final decision but as long as we are trying, we will reach our goal please continue pushing,” wrote Zooma Mero.

The Wall Street Journal referred to the Facebook page in its story today, which also detailed the efforts of a Los Angeles immigration attorney on behalf of the people initially told they had won.

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FILED UNDER: Politics/Justice, Diversity Visa Lottery Program, Green cards, U.S. State Department, Visa lottery

May 16, 2011 | 2:39 PM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

An unfortunate computer glitch puts the ‘visa lottery’ on the map

Photo by John Wardell (Netinho)/Flickr (Creative Commons)

Last week, a computer glitch dashed the hopes of tens of thousands of immigrants who had hoped to come legally to the United States – and put one of the quirkier programs within the U.S. immigration system on the map.

It’s called the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, a U.S. State Department program often referred to simply as “the visa lottery.” The congressionally-mandated program makes up to 55,000 immigrant visas available each year to people who apply for them via random selection, with results selected electronically. It was announced late last week that the results of the 2012 lottery would have to be scratched because of a computer programming error.

“The results were not valid because they did not represent a fair, random selection of entrants, as required by U.S. law,” read an announcement on the State Department website. “If you checked this website during the first week in May and found a notice that you had been selected for further processing or a notice that you had not been selected, that notice has been rescinded and is no longer valid.”

It’s sad news for those who thought they were lottery winners, if good news for those who weren’t. New winners will now be drawn from the existing applications.

The Diversity Visa Lottery Program program was established in 1990. The idea was to diversify the pool of immigrants coming into the country, bringing in people from underrepresented developing countries and from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. Unlike with traditional immigrant visas, for which applicants need to be sponsored then wait in line – often for many years – visa lottery applicants needn’t be sponsored by a relative or employer.

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