<P> The Immigration Act of 1990 was passed with bipartisan support and signed by President George H.W. Bush . The legislation established the current and permanent Diversity Visa ( DV ) program , where 55,000 immigrant visas ( later reduced to 50,000 ) are available in an annual lottery . The lottery aims to diversify the immigrant population in the United States , by selecting applicants mostly from countries with low numbers of immigrants to the United States in the previous five years . Starting in fiscal year 1999 , 5,000 of the visas from the DV program are reserved for use by the NACARA program , so the number of immigrant visas available in the lottery was reduced to 50,000 . </P>
<P> The Immigration Act of 1990 was passed with bipartisan support and signed by President George H.W. Bush . The legislation established the current and permanent Diversity Visa ( DV ) program , where 55,000 immigrant visas ( later reduced to 50,000 ) are available in an annual lottery . The lottery aims to diversify the immigrant population in the United States , by selecting applicants mostly from countries with low numbers of immigrants to the United States in the previous five years . Starting in fiscal year 1999 , 5,000 of the visas from the DV program are reserved for use by the NACARA program , so the number of immigrant visas available in the lottery was reduced to 50,000 . </P>
when was the diversity visa lottery program started
when was the diversity visa lottery program started
1990
1990