Friends I am hoping the DV Lottery will continue for all hopeful legal and law-abiding immigrants.
I don't have any links as such but I do know from the news and from my brother in the US that the immigration system is going through a massive revamp in Congress/House/Senate and there is much debate about its present form.
Don't forget that incidents like the terrible tragedy in Boston are one of the factors that raise questions about the DV Lottery because it is an easy door for troublemakers to get through (I think there was a case of one terrorist who got through the DV Lottery and was caught out) so the US Authorities want to clamp down and tighten the screws on immigration.
From what I have been reading the Republicans are against the current structure of immigration whilst the Democrats are not really saying anything as such. The DV programme got started during President Clinton's two terms in office and then President Bush came in and had two wars to deal with in Afghanistan and Iraq so there was more attention being paid to counter-terrorism agencies and the wars instead of immigration.
So it all depends on who has the majority say in the House/Congress/Senate. The issue at hand here is that if a Republican president comes in after President Obama then you can be sure that the immigration system will be revamped.
From what I hear, the US Government will be deporting some 1m to 2m people (illegals or immigrants chewing on the welfare system) over the coming year so there's a lot going on.
People who are holding Green Cards for years but living outside America and making money outside America (and subsequently not declaring their assets or income) and simply entering the US when needed to stamp their passport and leaving again have also been told that their residency will be revoked if they don't enter and stay in the US permanently or apply for naturalisation or stay in the US and pay taxes. In summary the US Authorities are saying "why should you be given a residency when you don't even want to live in America or pay taxes when there are people who genuinely want to live and work here."
We need to analyse the wider picture (at least from my analysis its how I see it) and I know this has nothing to do with DV selection but I just thought of sharing my views with potential immigrants.
- In 2014 the US Government will bring back its troops from Afghanistan and we are talking almost 150,000 people (that's basically the total of 3 DVs if you look at it) and many of which will leave the military and enter civilian life therefore they will need jobs. Immigrants will not be given preference over US citizens who have served in the armed forces and now require jobs or welfare (which is pretty limited at the moment and I'm sure some of you have seen how ex-soldiers are living out of their cars).
The Nasdaq and Dow Jones are zooming high at the moment I personally think its pumping air into a punctured tyre and I read on CNN that economists also have this view. My fear is that it is a speculative financial boom and if it tanks then it'll tank worse than in 2008. Look at the amount of foreclosures in the housing market and house prices aren't really going up. How is it possible that the financial markets are skyrocketing but people are still looking for work?
- Government expenses - what I mean is that the Federal Government is still looking for ways to cut costs in order to reduce the national deficit. Just recently I read that the Federal Government and FAA want to close down control towers at many small airports because it costs money to run them. Also recently I read that the toll staff at the Golden Gate Bridge have been replaced by automated machines/gates. I am also reading that police officers in many counties/small towns are being reduced to cut costs. When these cost-cutting exercises are compounded together they come to a massive amount of money being saved by the US Government.
- Immigration - this is what pertains to us. Think of all the illegals crossing over Mexico or coming from Europe or Africa or asylum seekers (like the Tsarnaev brothers) They may not see it but they are a liability on the system. Many of these illegals are criminals and end up costing the government money (more police, Federal resources e.g. FBI expenses, court cases, Border Control et al.). Those who aren't criminals sit and sit and sit for years without a social security number or Green Card or job or don't pay taxes in the hope of becoming legal (like what happened in the last US election with the Latino population). Compound the number of illegals not paying taxes but living there and poaching jobs which should ideally go to someone who is legal and do the math.
I could go on and on but it pretty much comes down to how much money the US Government wants to allocate to immigration or rather if they should allocate Federal Government spending on immigration as opposed to anti-terrorism (which is the major issue of the 21st century so far) or anti-organised crime (the RICO statute) etc. and who gets priority over jobs.
Then again I may be mistaken and not everyone would share my opinion or thoughts
