Last week a national and citizen of Uzbekistan rented a Home Depot pickup truck and drove that vehicle on a New York City bike path killing at least eight (8) people and injuring many others. The act is now being described as a “terrorist attack.” It is said that the Uzbekistan national entered the United States through the Visa Diversity Program.
After the incident, President Trump stated the Visa Diversity Program should be terminated and has asked Congress to take the necessary steps to accomplish that goal. His reason? The Visa Diversity Program is allowing terrorists to enter the United States. However, individuals who qualify to enter the United States through the Visa Diversity Program are subject to the same requirements, if not more, that other immigrants are subject to before entering the United States. These individuals are subject to a qualification process and background check before they are granted permission to enter the United States.
President Trump’s reasoning is one of a slippery slope. If we allow the actions of one person to dictate the existence of an immigration program designed to give a chance to those at a disadvantage, then we must ask ourselves, what will be the next immigration program to be terminated based on the action of one person?
The Visa Diversity Program cannot and should not be terminated because of the action of a lone actor who used a vehicle to commit a cowardice act of terror. Is the system perfect? Probably not. Are there safeguards to prevent bad people from entering the United States? Absolutely. We cannot simply “cut the entire tree because of a bad apple.”
We should take into the consideration the thousands of lives that will be affected if the Visa Diversity Program is terminated. I don’t have the correct answer as to how to prevent this from happening in the future, but the correct answer is not to terminate the Visa Diversity Program completely.
What is the Visa Diversity Program?
The Visa Diversity Program was created to allow countries whose citizens are under-represented in regards to emigration to the United States. Essentially, this program allows individuals from countries with low emigration rates to the United States an alternate avenue to be able to travel to and reside in the United States.
The Visa Diversity is a lottery system. There is no cost to submit your initial application. Individuals from qualifying countries can submit an application to the United States Department of State. For a list of qualifying countries click here. The deadline to submit your application is 12:00 PM on Wednesday November 22, 2017.
Once your application is submitted, you will receive a confirmation page with a unique confirmation number. Thereafter, you will need to check your application online anytime from May 15, 2018 – September 30, 2019.
If your application is selected, you will then begin the process of qualifying for lawful permanent resident status in the United States. It is very important to note that selection of your application does not guarantee a visa and lawful permanent resident status. You must meet all the requirements and qualifications before you are given lawful permanent resident status.
If you would like to determine whether you, a family or friend qualifies for the Visa Diversity Program please contact me at (301) 404-4008 or by email at roberto@rbaezlaw.com.