The US Congress has granted permission to issue 55,000 so-called green cards a year to immigrants from all over the world.

While the United States government officially launches its diversity visa lottery program at the start of the new fiscal year, thousands of previous lottery winners from Afghanistan, Egypt, Peru, Iran, and other countries continue to face processing delays, dimming their prospects for a new life in America.

The Biden administration confirmed that registration for the 2023 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program — often referred to as the green card lottery — had started. Congress allowed the issuance of 55,000 green cards every year to immigrants from all around the world in order to foster diversity in the United States.

Registration begins well in advance of any fiscal year — in this case, 2023 — to allow for application processing. However, delays have grown chronic, resulting in legal action.

While the US government continues to accept new applications, officials acknowledge a significant backlog in processing existing ones, many of which were filed during the previous Trump administration and have been hampered by the pandemic.

Visa eligibility does not carry over from year to year. The process as a whole must be finished within a year. With time running out, the mother of three decided to join other diversity visa recipients in suing the United States government in the hope of obtaining travel documents.

In an email to VOA, a State Department spokesperson stated, “Being randomly chosen as a selectee does not guarantee that you will receive a visa or a visa interview. Selection merely means that the person is eligible to participate in the DV program.”

Years of turmoil

Recently, the diversity visa program has encountered difficulties.

In 2017, then-President Donald Trump initiated a series of moves banning Muslims from Muslim-majority countries.

Then, in March 2020, Trump ordered the closure of all consulates worldwide in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Subsequently, his government announced a suspension on some types of immigration visas, stating that it was necessary to defend the American economy.

As a result, thousands of visa lottery winners were denied entry to the United States.

According to government papers, officials were directed to process diversity visas last once consulates reopened in the summer of 2020.

Last month, a federal judge ordered the Biden administration to resume the lottery visa processing. Last Monday, District Judge Amit P. Mehta of the United States District Court in Washington issued an order reserving around 7,000 visas for diversity lottery winners.

In court docs, US officials claimed that the delays were caused by the coronavirus pandemic, an assertion that did not convince the judge.

“Some of that shortfall is no doubt due to the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the pandemic is not the primary culprit,” Mehta said in his ruling. He added that a significant cause of processing delays is “the State Department’s complete cessation of adjudicating diversity visa applications for five months and its unlawful deprioritizing of those applications when adjudications resumed.”

While the State Department refused to comment on ongoing litigation, the agency stated, “We are committed to reducing the backlog of immigrant visa applicants waiting to schedule appointments at their U.S. embassy or consulate, while keeping our staff and applicants safe. Applicants should monitor the website of the relevant embassy or consulate for updates.”

US embassies flooded

According to immigration experts handling diversity visa recipients, US embassies are now processing hundreds of files and interviewing approximately ten diversity visa applicants each month.

“And it’s so heartbreaking and frustrating for these people, because they’ve been in limbo for two years to get here,” said immigration lawyer Curtis Morrison.

Morrison stated that winners who are now enduring delays have a roughly one-in-three probability of completing the procedure and moving to the United States.

“We’re going to ask for more visas … but we can’t guarantee that the judge is going to go along with our ask,” he said, referencing ongoing litigation.

Image Credit: Getty

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