RS21342 -- Immigration: Diversity Visa Lottery
Updated April 26, 2004

	Background

The purpose of the diversity visa lottery is, as the name suggests, to encourage legal immigration from countries other than the majorsending countries of current immigration to the United States. Recipients of the visas become legal permanent residents(LPRs) of the UnitedStates. As Figure 1 illustrates, European immigrants comprised 39.4%of the diversity visa recipients incontrast to 10.4% of the family-based and employment-based immigrants in FY2002. (7) For the first time,applications for the diversity lottery must have been submitted electronically. Some are arguing that the INA should be amended to prevent nationals from countries that the United States identifies as sponsors ofterrorism from participating in the diversity visa lottery.
The diversity visa lottery offers an opportunity for immigration to nationals of countriesthat do not have high levels of immigration. Aliens from eligible countries had until noon on December 30, 2003to submit theirapplications for the FY2005 diversity visa lottery. Aliens who are selected through the lottery, if they are otherwiseadmissible underthe Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), may become legal permanent residents of the United States. Participation in the diversityvisa lottery is limited annually to 55,000 aliens from countries that are under-represented among recent immigrantadmissions to theUnited States. In FY2001, over 8 million aliens from around the world sent in applications for the FY2003 lottery. Of the diversityvisas awarded in FY2002, European immigrants comprised 39.4% of the diversity visa recipients and Africanimmigrants received38.1%. This report does not track legislation and will not be regularly updated.