The official Diversity Visa lottery program through which the US Congress grants diversity immigrant visas to eligible winners of the lottery program, is also known as the Green Card lottery program. Foreign nationals who qualify for immigrant visas, through this program may enter into the United States and live there permanently, by obtaining Green Cards. They can remain in America for the rest of their lives and work anywhere in the country. This Green Card lottery program was first conducted in the year 1995 and through this program, every year, 50,000 foreign nationals from underrepresented countries become eligible for US Green Cards.
Eligible foreign nationals may now file applications to enter the Green Card lottery program. However, political parties had been trying to abolish the lottery program and the Republicans tried to put an end to the DV lottery program, by introducing the STEM Jobs Act. Similarly, there is always a notion that the DV lottery program is open to fraud and that it helps terrorists also to gain lawful status in the United States.
The STEM Jobs Act was introduced by Lamar Smith, a Republican Representative. If this Act is implemented, all the 50,000 diversity immigrant visas that are granted through the Diversity Visa lottery program will be allocated to the STEM graduates and the Green Card lottery program will be abolished.
This Act was not passed as it was not supported by the Democrats and the Democrats do not want to put an end to the Green Card lottery program. Democrats accept that the country must retain the STEM graduates and they say that the Green Card lottery program is also important because this program diversifies the population of the country. The Democrats introduced another Act that will grant visas to STEM graduates without abolishing the DV lottery program. But both the Acts were not passed by the US Congress.
But there is a notion that the Green Card lottery program is more likely to be abolished if the Republicans win. Similarly, if Mr. Romney wins, the STEM Jobs Act may be passed and 50, 000 diversity immigrant visas will then be granted to the STEM graduates. Hence people believe that Green Card lottery 2014 could be the last lottery program if the Republicans win.