It's Green Card Lottery Time Again!

I'm an immigration lawyer. As such, many people believe that I must support open borders and a blanket amnesty. I don't, not even close. Yes, the system is broken but I haven't seen a fair and just reform proposal...yet. 

My practice mainly caters to people in love, US citizens with spouses or fiancés who are eligible to either adjust status here in the US or apply for their visa abroad. For the most part, my clients have all followed the rules and wait patiently (ok, some aren't quite so patient) for their turn in line. It's a rewarding profession and I love what I do. 

However, at the end of the day, if you don't fall in love with a US citizen, have another close family member with status in the US or qualify for a green card through employment, you're likely out of luck. Today's immigration process is much different than what my ancestors went through when they came from Ireland and Lithuania. Get on a boat, survive the crossing, live the American dream! But if a young Irish guy landed at Logan Airport tomorrow with no immigrant visa and the intent to stay and build a life, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would turn him around and send him home. 

I'd also note that the same is true if I wanted to immigrate to Canada or the UK -- without family or a particular job offer I have no ability to do so. Thankfully, there is still something that sets the US immigration system apart from that of many Western countries and it's called the "Diversity Visa". It's my favorite type of case to handle. It's also one of the most controversial and the program is always on the chopping block.

Back in the 1990's the late Senator Ted Kennedy backed a bill that would give people from countries that hadn't sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the US in the previous 5 years the chance to "win" a green card. It was meant to keep the US population diverse. Some claim that Kennedy pushed the plan primarily so that the Irish would have a way to immigrate again. 

Each May, approximately 100,000 people are selected at random from the pool of lottery entries made in the fall of the previous year (in the fall of 2011, over 12 million people entered the lottery). Those 100,000 lucky "selectees" will be given the opportunity to apply for a green card in a randomly assigned order and once 50,000 visas have been issued, the program ends. 

The requirements are pretty simple. You need a high school diploma (or equivalent work experience) and the ability to support yourself once you get here (so a job offer or family/friend financial sponsor). Of course, you must also pass all the medical and security background checks that other immigrants are subject to. To learn more about applying for the next cycle (DV 2015), go to the Department of State's DV page. 

So, why is the program so controversial? I mean, come on, it's free PR for us all around the world. It helps win hearts and minds. The message is that America must not so bad if millions of people want to go there. It must be ok because my mother's sister's nephew from the village on the other side of the mountain won and loves it there! My most recent winner was an amateur athlete that might very well go on to represent the US in worldwide events (or at least coach people who will). 

In a nutshell, immigration reformists want those 50,000 visas for their own pet causes. Reformists who think we should only allow people to immigrate if they can add to our economy immediately want them for skills-based employment or investor green cards. Reformists who lament that our current immigration system "tears families apart" think relatives who must currently wait years for a family-based visa to become available should get them instead. 

Personally, I think the program is great just the way it is. The green card lottery is the only part of current US immigration law that even comes close to resembling the laws in effect at the time our country was founded and prospered into (at least at one time) the most powerful and progressive on Earth. Back then you didn't need an advanced degree or familial connection. You just needed enough money to get you here and the motivation to make something of yourself. I love that there is a little bit of that wildcard left. I shudder to think what we all would have missed out on had Elias Disney not come down from Canada seeking to make his fortune panning for gold. He never found his fortune, but his offspring surely did. 

Millie Cavanaugh is an immigration lawyer in Culver City serving the Los Angeles metro area. Learn more about marriage immigration or fiance visas at her website (www.cavanaughlegal.com).