The Donald Trump administration has abruptly suspended the United States' Diversity Immigrant Visa program, commonly known as the Green Card lottery. This decisive action comes in the wake of a tragic incident where the suspect, a beneficiary of the same program, was involved in a shooting at Brown University and the killing of an MIT professor.
The Incident That Triggered The Suspension
The move was directly prompted by the case of Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old citizen of Portugal. Valente entered the United States through the Diversity Visa lottery pathway in 2017 and was subsequently granted a Green Card. Authorities identified him as the suspect in the Brown University shooting and the homicide of a professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Valente was discovered dead on Thursday evening from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Announcing the program's suspension, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that this "heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country," directly linking the administration's decision to this specific case.
What is the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Program?
The Diversity Visa lottery is a random selection process designed to diversify the immigrant population in the United States. It targets individuals born in countries with historically low rates of immigration to the US. It is crucial to distinguish this from the general Green Card program; the suspension specifically affects the lottery system.
Annually, the program allocates 55,000 immigrant visas (Green Cards). For the 2025 lottery cycle, a staggering nearly 20 million people applied, with over 131,000 individuals (including spouses of winners) initially selected. Winning the lottery does not guarantee entry; selectees must still undergo rigorous vetting before being admitted to the United States.
Secretary Noem's statement highlighted that Portuguese citizens were awarded only 38 slots in the recent lottery, underscoring the random nature of the selection.
Which Countries Are Impacted By The Suspension?
The suspension of the Green Card lottery will primarily affect nations eligible for the Diversity Visa program. Notably, countries that already have high immigration rates to the US, such as India, China (mainland), Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland), the Philippines, and South Korea, do not qualify for this lottery and are therefore unaffected by its suspension.
The list of eligible countries is extensive and subject to change each year. However, a general list of regions and countries that have traditionally qualified includes:
Africa: A wide range of nations including Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Ethiopia. Notably, several African countries are already on the Trump administration's expanded travel ban list, automatically disqualifying their citizens.
Europe: Many European countries are eligible, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom (only for Northern Ireland).
Oceania: Countries like Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.
South America, Central America & The Caribbean: Nations such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru, and Venezuela.
The administration's decision adds another layer of restriction to US immigration policy, which already includes travel bans on 39 countries. The future of the Diversity Visa program, a decades-old initiative, now hangs in the balance as the US government reassesses its immigration protocols following this high-profile security incident.
