The controversy of the Diversity Visa Lottery amid the health crisis

Clearly, the sudden arrival of the global Coronavirus pandemic forced governments around the world to create strategies to mitigate the impact of the health crisis.

On the one hand, governments had the primary task of protecting the health of the local population. On the other hand, they had to implement emergency measures to protect resources and prevent the economy from suffering devastating consequences.

For instance, one of the emergency measures implemented by most countries was to close borders to avoid:

• The export and import of the virus.
• Massive spread around the world.

In the case of the US, the Trump government suspended the migratory flow by banning the entry of foreigners for a considerable period of time and postponing the issuance of visas or permits for immigrants.

Nowadays, after more than three months, the local immigration system is finally returning to normal.

However, the Trump administration still has several measures in place, at least until 2021:

• The issuance of work visas for qualified foreigners, although some restrictions have already been lifted for this measure.
• The issuance of Green Cards or legal permanent residence.

There is a program related to the issuance of Green Cards called the Diversity Visa Lottery. Annually, this program randomly offers permanent legal residence to approximately 50,000 immigrants from different nations and they have the opportunity to come to the US through this lottery.

Before the massive outbreak of Coronavirus in the North American territory, thousands of immigrants had already won the Green Card through the 2020 visa lottery. However, they have not been able to come to the country due to policies of the Trump administration.

Court had already ruled in favor of winners of the Diversity Visa Lottery

Due to multiple lawsuits filed by immigrants who had previously won the Green Card through the visa lottery, a judge recently intervened and ruled in favor of immigrants.

Therefore, the Trump administration had the responsibility to issue the Green Cards for the winners of the 2020 lottery.

However, after this verdict, the Trump administration, through the Department of State (DOS), implemented a mandatory measure for the lottery winners to be able to come to the US.

Broadly speaking, the measure states that visa lottery winners must be in mandatory quarantine somewhere else before entering the US.

Judge removes this rule

The judge in charge of the case declared on September 14, 2020 that the DOS rule that forces visa lottery winners to be quarantined before entering the country violates his verdict and must be overturned.

The DOS has until September 30 to issue the necessary documentation, so that lottery winners can enter the country as soon as possible, disabling the mandatory quarantine rule.

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Experienced immigration team

The Motion Law Immigration team is ready to guide you during and through your immigration journey in the US.

It is imperative to have the accompaniment of experts in these times of global crisis, mainly because multiple immigration policies have changed during the current juncture. We recommend this whether you are about to start an immigration process for the first time, or if you already reside in the US.

If you have any questions about an immigration issue or relating to a case you may have currently in progress, then please don’t hesitate to contact us for a FREE Phone Consultation with one of our expert immigration attorneys.

Simply call Motion Law today at: (202) 918-1799.