'Visa lottery is stupid!'

'Visa lottery is stupid!'

Officially called the Diversity Visa lottery, it is offered by the US State Department in countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Winners, chosen through a random computer-generated lottery, are given permanent resident visas to live, work and study in the US. Executive Director at the Center for Immigration Studies Mark Krikorian says the visa lottery is probably exhibit A for the stupidest and most inefficient part of our immigration system.

Winning the lottery and losing big

Winning the lottery and losing big




Each year thousands of immigrants win the "green card" lottery, and come to the US thinking they'll score the American Dream. What many find is a nightmare, where their education and jobs don't count, and few resources are there to help them navigate life in the country that invited them.