Africans could be
the big losers as the United States reforms
its immigration laws and eliminates the
green card lottery, of which Africans are
the main beneficiaries.
Half of the 50,000 residence permits
handed out at random each year are
earmarked for Africans. It is a hugely
popular program that has allowed
hundreds of thousands of Africans to
settle in America since the mid 1990s.
But the ambitious reform project under
debate now in Washington, which would
provide papers for million undocumented
immigrants, contains a clause that would
do away with the lottery.
In its place would be a more selective
immigration system based on skills, career
and family ties.
For years the lottery has been in the
crosshairs of Republicans, who control the
House of Representatives and say it adds
no value to the American economy.
"It's clear that there are better ways to
allocate visas than to randomly give them
out through a lottery system," said Bob
Goodlatte, the Republican who leads the
House Judiciary Committee. "Our
immigration laws shouldn't be based on
the luck of the draw; rather, they should
be designed strategically to benefit our
country."
The ‘diversity visa,' as it is known formally,
is set aside for people from countries that
do not experience a lot of emigration. So
Mexicans, Chinese and Filipinos, for
instance, are not eligible. Africans quickly
became the main ones to cash in.
All applicants need is a high school
diploma or two years of work experience.
Between 2010 and 2012, one in five
Africans who came to the United States to
stay did so through the lottery. That made
it the third most common method, at 21
percent of the total, after family
reunification (43%) and refugee status or
asylum seekers (23%).
By comparison, in the same period only
10 percent of Europeans who became
permanent residents and 3% of Asians did
so through the lottery.
"It has proven to be a way of helping
those who come from the continent of
Africa, those who come from a number of
other areas where it is very difficult to get
a visa," said Sheila Jackson Lee, a member
of the Congressional Black Caucus, whose
members are all Democrats.
But in an effort to preserve the
comprehensive reform being negotiated
for months by the two parties, the
Democrats and President Barack Obama
agreed to ditch the lottery.
Representative Charles Schumer, who
authored the program in 1990, said it was
impossible to keep it.
Schumer said the system that will replace
it in 2017 is merit-based and will also give
Africans a chance. On average they are
more educated than people from other
continents. And English-speaking Africans
would get a boost because of that
language skill.
But Michael Fix of the Migration Policy
Institute said, "It really probably won't
admit enough people to offset the effects
of the loss of the diversity visa for some
years after that. It's a long time away. It
won't be immediately offset by any
means."
The diversity visas would vanish starting
next year under the reform being
negotiated.
Only four percent of African immigrants
— compared to 21 percent of Asians and
22 percent of Europeans — received a
green card for employment reasons in
2012.
The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People says the
number of African immigrants will go
down even with the merit-based system.
"In essence, we're concerned," said Hilary
Shelton, the NAACP Washington bureau
director.
Dame Babou, who hosts a radio show that
caters to Senegalese people in New York,
said the scrapping of the lottery is
disheartening for Africans.
"Every year many people thought this was
going to be their year," Babou said.
"Again, what is being eliminated is hope."
Source: Vanguard

Great! I've always detested the freeloading associated with the Visa Lottery idea.

You see our life.

In the first place why are we leaving our dear country for another country to face uncertainty? Unfortunate.