TAKE ACTION

Fax Congress free Ask your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 1219.

H.R. 1219, the Security and Fairness Enhancement (SAFE) for America Act, introduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)

H.R. 1219
Co-sponsors

ADDITIONAL READING
The Visa Lottery

• Bill page — links to statements by sponsors, section-by-section summary, and other resources

• Articles and testimony

NumbersUSA Urges Congress to End Visa Lottery: NumbersUSA Press Release - June 15, 2005

The Visa Lottery: A Result of the Influence of Special Interests on U.S. Immigration Law: June 15, 2005 Congressional Testimony of NumbersUSA Director of Government Relations Rosemary Jenks

Inspector General Issues Scathing Report on Visa Lottery Program: Dear Colleague from Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)

Eliminate the Visa Lottery to Further the Goals of the 9/11 Report: From the Office of Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)

Problems with the Visa Lottery: From the Office of Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)

Secure our Borders and Ensure Fairness in our Immigration Laws: Dear Colleague from Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)

The Diversity Visa Program of the Immigration Act of 1990, NumbersUSA Education and Research Foundation Report

Taking Chances: The Folly of the Visa Lottery, by Mark Krikorian

Gambling With Visas,
by Mark Krikorian

The Diversity Visa Program, and Its Susceptibility to Fraud and Abuse,
House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims Oversight Hearing, April 29, 2004

UPDATE: On Thursday, September 8^th, the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims passed by voice vote H.R. 1219 to eliminate the visa lottery and reduce legal immigration by 50,000 a year. This would implement one of the recommendations of the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform led by the late Barbara Jordan.

The Visa Lottery was begun in 1990. At a time when the nation was already reeling from overpopulation, Congress invented the lottery in order to establish chain migration in more countries. Around 50,000 names are pulled out of a hat each year and are allowed to move toward U.S. citizenship.

The people who can enter the lottery are those who live in a country with very little current chain migration.

The lottery adds 50,000 more people each year to the country without any regard to their usefulness to the country or their own humanitarian need. It also may add at least that many more illegal aliens each year as people who have entered the lottery decide to go ahead and move illegally to the U.S. in expectation of one day winning the lottery and making it all legal. Millions of foreign nationals each year begin to build up hopes that they one day will win the lottery.

The bi-partisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform in the 1990s recommended eliminating the visa lottery.

For additional details, see the NumbersUSA Proposed Immigration Bills in the current Congress page, which contains links to H.R. 1219 and other relevant information.