DONALD TRUMP FOR THE GREEN CARD LOTTERY STOP

Several travel authorizations are made available by the American authorities depending on the type of stay in the United States: ESTA for short stays under the Visa Waiver Program, non-immigrant visas and permanent resident card , better known as the Green Card. Each year, the American government organizes a lottery where 50,000 green cards are to be won. Donald Trump seems however determined to mark the end of the Green Card lottery.

BACK TO THE GREEN CARD

The Green Card , in French green card, is a permanent residence card which gives its holder almost the same rights as the American citizen (except the right to vote and representation as a juror).

This card thus allows a foreign national to expatriate to the United States. From there, he is free to immigrate there to do an internship in the USA, study at an American university, work in the United States, etc.

There are 8 methods of obtaining among which marriage , family or work. In each of the cases mentioned, an American national acts as guarantor for the foreign person or, in the context of a green working card, the company becomes the sponsor of an employee. The steps to be taken vary depending on the type of sponsorship.

In addition to being sponsored, the person wishing to settle in the United States has the opportunity to try his luck at the Green Card lottery . This lottery, set up in 1990, is part of the desire to diversify the American population (hence its name of Diversity Immigrant Visa Program). 100,000 participants are randomly selected and half leave with sesame in their pocket. Several conditions must be met in order to participate, such as being a national of an authorized country.

DONALD TRUMP AND THE END OF THE GREEN CARD LOTTERY

Donald Trump does not question the principle of the Green Card obtained by sponsorship since the security measures are, according to him, respected. On the other hand, the Green Card lottery is under fire from critics.

Donald Trump was not the first to criticize the randomness of the Green Card lottery. Following the attacks in Los Angeles in 2002, the lottery was considered an obstacle to internal security when it was revealed that the attacker was living in the United States on the basis of his wife’s diversity visa. This idea was reinforced with the attacks of Manhattan in 2017 since the author had won his permanent resident card by the Green Card lottery. Donald Trump had already declared that he wanted to replace the random system with a system based on merit.

Will Donald Trump take action and end the Green Card lottery? The answer could be given next month, in October 2018, during the official launch for obtaining the 2020 green cards. We recall that the launch takes place in October, the draw in May of the following year and the process of obtained in July. Winning a green card in the lottery is not a sign of obtaining the green card. The application file must, in fact, be presented to the Embassy of the United States.

Whether Donald Trump likes it or not, the decision to stop the Green Card lottery is not his. This method of obtaining having been approved by the Congress, only the latter can put an end to it. Two legislative proposals have, however, been tabled to this effect, but the texts are still being studied. It therefore seems that the Green Card lottery will take place in October, as it does every year. For how long ?