VOA常速英语2007-US Visa Lottery Underway Despite Uncertain Futur

By Alex Villarreal
Washington
30 October 2007

The United States is now accepting entries for its annual visa lottery¹, which has brought more than 500,000 immigrants into the country since 1995. But the lottery faces an uncertain future. Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have approved a bill to eliminate funding for the program. VOA's Alex Villarreal reports from Washington.

Foreign nationals in pursuit of life in the United States can now apply online for the 2009 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. The deadline for filing applications is December 2.

Each year, the State Department program awards 50,000 permanent residency visas, known as "green cards," through a random² lottery.

The lottery was created in 1990 and designed to bring in people from nations that have not had large numbers of emigrants³ to the United States.

Though controversial in the United States, the visa lottery is immensely popular around the world. Last year's drawing attracted more than 6.4 million entries - the majority from Africa and Asia.

"Congress created the diversity visa program in order to expand the diversity of the immigrant population in the United States. It's designed to allow immigration from countries where there aren't traditionally a lot of immigrants to the United States," said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services, Tony Edson.

Diversity visas are distributed according to geographical⁴ region, with more going to areas with lower rates of emigration.

Natives of countries that sent more than 50,000 emigrants during the previous five years do not qualify for the program. This year's lottery has about 20 ineligible⁵ nations, including Mexico, India, China and Russia.

Applicants⁶ to the visa lottery must have either a high school diploma or at least two years work experience in a field requiring at least two years of training.

But Bryan Griffith of the Center for Immigration Studies, an independent research institute, says those requirements are not enough. "There is no guarantee that they will contribute well for society or economically. It takes a little more than a high school degree for the most part...to be able to compete well in this country in this age," he said.

The lottery's minimal⁷ requirements also make it vulnerable to fraud.

A report by the Government Accountability Office last month uncovered widespread use of fake documents, such as marriage licenses⁸ and passports. The office also found that people posing as visa facilitators prey⁹ on lottery entrants by charging large sums of money to help them with their forms.

Critics say the program's potential for fraud poses a national security threat, opening the door for terrorists to enter the country.

In 2003, the State Department's Inspector¹⁰ General raised concerns that people from countries labeled state sponsors of terrorism can apply for diversity visas. About 9,800 such people have come to the United States through the program.

Edson says these concerns are being addressed. "We certainly provide extra scrutiny¹¹ to applicants from countries that are designated state sponsors of terrorism, but we feel that the scrutiny we're giving to these applications, the care with which they're screened and interviewed, are adequate to ensure the integrity of the visa process and the security of our borders," he said.

Washington D.C. Immigration attorney Glen Wasserstein has worked with people who came through the diversity visa program. He says the immigrants the lottery helps are not criminals or terrorists, but ordinary people with a dream. "A lot of good people that have gotten here on the lottery had no other means to get here, so I do believe that it sort of gives the chance of the American dream to millions of people who have no other traditional chance," he said.

But they might not get the chance much longer. The House of Representatives passed a bill in June which would eliminate funding for the program. The Senate approved the same bill in September. It now goes to a conference committee of senators and representatives to work out differences. In 2005, a bill to abolish the lottery passed in the House, but did not pass in the Senate.

Diversity visa winners are only a small part of the immigrant flow. The Department of Homeland Security reports diversity visas accounted for just 3.5 percent of the more than 1.2 million green cards issued in 2006.

Most immigrants come to the United States through programs that allow entry for those with family ties, employment sponsors or refugee status.

1 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

2 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

3 emigrants   

n.（从本国移往他国的）移民( emigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At last the emigrants got to their new home. 移民们终于到达了他们的新家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 'Truly, a decree for selling the property of emigrants.' “有那么回事，是出售外逃人员财产的法令。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

4 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

5 ineligible   

adj.无资格的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The new rules have made thousands more people ineligible for legal aid.新规定使另外数千人不符合接受法律援助的资格。
• The country had been declared ineligible for World Bank lending.这个国家已被宣布没有资格获得世界银行的贷款。

6 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

7 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

8 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

9 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

10 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

11 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。