Why do certain countries not qualify for the diversity program?
• Diversity visas are intended to provide an immigration opportunity for persons from countries other than the countries which send large numbers of immigrants to the U.S. The law states that no diversity visas shall be provided for ‘high admission’ countries. These countries are those from which a total of 50000 persons in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based visa categories immigrated to the United States during the previous five years. Each year, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) adds the family and employment immigrant admission figures for the previous five years in order to identify the countries that must be excluded from the annual diversity lottery. Because there is a separate determination made before each annual Green Card Lottery entry period, the list of countries that do not qualify may change from one year to the next. • Can the applicant submit more than one entry during each Green Card Lottery registration period? • No, the law allows only one entry
