Africans stand to lose as US axes visa lottery

WASHINGTON – 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.”(AFP)