Green-Card Lottery Record

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A record 15 million people around the world this year entered America's green-card lottery, an immigration program that offers a quick path to legal, permanent U.S. residence for 50,000 people a year—selected purely by the luck of the draw.

The so-called "diversity visa program" lottery drew nearly 25% more entries than last year, according to the State Department.

...

The annual lottery creates a buzz across the developing world. Applicants from Kenya to Khazakstan brave lines at Internet kiosks to fill out electronic entries. In the final hours of the month-long enrollment period, which this year closed Nov. 3, entries were rolling in at the rate of 62,000 an hour.

...

This year's total is more than 2.5 times greater than five years ago, when the lottery attracted 5.5 million entries. Immigration scholars say possible reasons include the spread of Internet connectivity and increased awareness of the lottery, which costs nothing to enter.

...

In Africa and Asia, banners advertising the lottery festoon remote villages and teeming city alleys, where Internet cafes do brisk business helping applicants fill out entry forms, which must be completed online.

In flood-prone Bangladesh, "it seems everyone in the country knows about it," said Sandra Ingram, consular chief in Dhaka, who holds news conferences during lottery season.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704804504575606580971555998.html?mod=e2fb

[scandal 951]

Preposterous. Take your silly graphs and charts and be done with them!

International studies prove that the US is a third world country and only attracts immigrants from other third world countries. Kenya, Khazakstan, puhleez. No one from first world countries would bother entering a lottery to "win" a visa to the US. What kind of prize is that, when you could live in Australia, after all?

OK, just a little nostalgia for the old days on a typical immigration thread.

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Kenya and Kazakhstan aren't third world?

[scandal 951]

Kenya and Kazakhstan aren't third world?

That's my point. Only dipshit countries bother with the lottery . Any self-respecting country like Australia has more taste. :whistle:

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This is interesting - http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/TotalDVApplicantsbyCountry.pdf

Almost 10,000 applicants from Australia for the American DV program! Wow!

[mawilson 2,133]

That's my point. Only dipshit countries bother with the lottery . Any self-respecting country like Australia has more taste. :whistle:

UK and Canadian citizens are not even eligible. Australians are eligible, but no-one applied this year.

Almost 10,000 applicants from Australia for the American DV program! Wow!

The only reason these people applied is to use their down payment to buy up all of Vermont and Texas.