The Trump administration has suspended the United States Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme, widely known as the green card lottery, citing security concerns after recent deadly shootings. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that, on President Donald Trump’s directive, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has been ordered to pause the programme.
The Diversity Visa scheme offers up to about 50,000 permanent resident visas each year to people from countries with historically low levels of immigration to the US, many of them in Africa. Beneficiaries are selected through an electronic lottery and can later apply for full green cards and, eventually, citizenship.
Officials linked the suspension to an ongoing investigation into shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where the suspected gunman is reported to have entered the US through the lottery programme and later obtained permanent residency. Noem described the attack as proof that the system can be exploited by people who “should never have been allowed in our country.”
The pause affects new processing and adjudication of Diversity Visa cases, including some handled by USCIS for people already inside the US. However, immigration lawyers note that the programme was created by Congress, so permanently ending it would require new legislation and is likely to face court challenges.
Trump has long criticised the lottery, arguing that it poses security risks and should be replaced by a more restrictive, merit based system that favours skilled workers and vetted migrants. Supporters of the programme say it promotes diversity and offers life changing opportunities to applicants from underrepresented regions, especially in Africa and parts of Asia and Eastern Europe.
The latest move comes on top of earlier delays and changes to the Diversity Visa process for the DV 2027 cycle, including new plans for a one dollar entry fee and additional security checks on the online application system. Advocacy groups warn that the suspension will deepen uncertainty for thousands of hopeful applicants worldwide and further shrink legal migration pathways to the United States.
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