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PLAYING THE ODDS: END TO US 'GREEN CARD' LOTTERY
INTERNATIONAL NEWS, NATIONAL NEWS, NEWS | JUNE 20, 2013 11:45 AM
________________________________
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
YEREVAN (ArmeniaNow) - Tens of thousands of citizens of Armenia filed
for the US Diversity Visa, better known as the green card lottery,
in 2011 and one in a hundred were actually selected and given a chance
to pursue their "American Dream." But the odds that the lottery held
for about two decades now will survive no longer appear great as the
measure encouraging diversity in US legal immigration may become
a tradeoff for a new bipartisan immigration reform package being
debated by legislators on Capitol Hill this month.
Armenia appears to have one of the largest per capita rates of
applications for the Green Card lottery as revealed by the US Embassy
in Yerevan. Thus, about 100,000 of the country's roughly 3 million
people sought to win permanent residence in the US in 2011. In
neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan the figures were more modest -
53,000 and 25,000, respectively, whereas the populations in these
countries are estimated at 4.5 million and 9.3 million, accordingly.
During the 17 years since the Diversity Visa was first introduced in
1995, about 21,000 citizens of Armenia left for permanent residence to
the US as green card lottery winners, said the US Embassy in Yerevan.
But the lucky winners of this year (the results were due on May 1 and
officially winners are expected to be notified in August) may be the
last to enjoy the privilege.
US President Barack Obama, who was reelected for a second term last
year, declared immigration reform a priority of his administration.
Speaking before the Senate on June 11, Obama said overhauling America's
dysfunctional immigration system cannot wait. "The system is still
broken. And to truly deal with this issue, Congress needs to act. And
that moment is now," said Obama, a son of an immigrant from Kenya.
The legislation being considered would create a path to US citizenship
for many of the 11 million people who are in the country illegally. It
would also further strengthen security at the US-Mexican border. In
addition, Obama said the legislation would make it easier for foreign
students to stay in the US.
But those now relying on the green card lottery as a path to legal
immigration to the US can forget about their American dreams as Uncle
Sam is about to scrap it as a compromise deal between Democrats
and Republicans. Instead, the new reform package envisages more
opportunities for graduates of American universities with degrees
in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to stay and work
legally in the US.
Yerevan-native Hrant Achikyan was one of 50,000 lucky green card
lottery winners who were randomly selected from around the world as
part of the 2013 Diversity Visa program.
Achikyan, a 25-year-old Armenia-trained lawyer, left for the US about
a month ago. He currently stays with his relatives in Los Angeles,
but still finds it hard to say whether his decision to chase his
American dream was right or wrong.
"I cannot say it until I get a job. Here you can't do anything until
you get a social security number. Once you get it, you can apply for
a driving license and an ID to be able to find a job. And I live in
a place that requires driving a car in order to go to work. That is
why I cannot say anything definite yet as to whether coming here was
a good thing or not," Achikyan told ArmeniaNow from the US. At the
same time, the young man thinks he still has more opportunities in
life in the US than he would have, had he decided to stay in Armenia.
The end of the green card lottery era may also come as an upset for
some businesses and firms that have earned money in the past two
decades by helping people file and pursue their applications.
A company owned by Echmiadzin resident Artur Lazarian in addition
to other services has traditionally provided services to potential
green card applicants. He said if the lottery is discontinued, he
will be deprived of some additional earnings as in October/November
when the lottery is traditionally held they serve up to 200 customers
charging 1,500 drams (about $3.50) for the service.
Lazarian said workers of his company also file green card lottery
applications for themselves and their families. In the past five
years, according to him, three of his 12 employees have been selected
to pursue US permanent residence visas. There have also been other
winners among their customers. Lazarian said the number of applicants
using the services of his office has been growing from year to year.
"It is interesting thing that when we first started to offer the
service we had only young adults, people aged 30-35, filing green
card lottery applications, but in recent years we also had elderly
people aged up to 85 among our customers. It means that now all,
from young to old, want to take part in this lottery," he said.
A Gallup survey conducted in Armenia in recent years shows that up to
40 percent of the country's population see their future abroad. Most
people who emigrate from Armenia do so in search of better social
and economic conditions of life as well as justice that they often
do not get in their native country.
A Russian immigration program, Compatriots, has been operating in
Armenia in the last few years, attracting thousands of Armenians to
resettle to Russian provinces with government support. The program is
now suspended, but it is expected to reopen later this year offering
even more attractive terms for potential immigrants.
Demography experts and some political and civic circles consider
programs like the US Diversity Visa or the Russian 'Compatriots'
scheme as detrimental to countries like Armenia. But they are also
convinced that unless the social and economic problems of the people
are addressed by the government, more Armenians will find a way to
emigrate with or without such immigration channels.
Meanwhile, during this summer season hundreds of Armenians leave the
country on a daily basis, many on buses heading to Russia to find
work as labor migrants. The situation is particularly alarming for
economically depressed areas of the country like Shirak. People in
Gumri joke on the subject that a young man without a job but with a
plane ticket is already a prospective husband.
Still, government officials in Armenia downplay the scale of
emigration. Senior ruling Republican Party member Galust Sahakyan
believes that the opposition simply speculates on the subject of
emigration for political gains. He thinks that Armenians will leave
and come back and there is no danger in it because "Armenians lived
even without statehood and will continue to live and become stronger."
- See more at:
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2013/06/20/playing-the-odds-end-to-us-green-card-lottery/#sthash.0dDc25bp.dpuf
From: Baghdasarian
INTERNATIONAL NEWS, NATIONAL NEWS, NEWS | JUNE 20, 2013 11:45 AM
________________________________
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
YEREVAN (ArmeniaNow) - Tens of thousands of citizens of Armenia filed
for the US Diversity Visa, better known as the green card lottery,
in 2011 and one in a hundred were actually selected and given a chance
to pursue their "American Dream." But the odds that the lottery held
for about two decades now will survive no longer appear great as the
measure encouraging diversity in US legal immigration may become
a tradeoff for a new bipartisan immigration reform package being
debated by legislators on Capitol Hill this month.
Armenia appears to have one of the largest per capita rates of
applications for the Green Card lottery as revealed by the US Embassy
in Yerevan. Thus, about 100,000 of the country's roughly 3 million
people sought to win permanent residence in the US in 2011. In
neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan the figures were more modest -
53,000 and 25,000, respectively, whereas the populations in these
countries are estimated at 4.5 million and 9.3 million, accordingly.
During the 17 years since the Diversity Visa was first introduced in
1995, about 21,000 citizens of Armenia left for permanent residence to
the US as green card lottery winners, said the US Embassy in Yerevan.
But the lucky winners of this year (the results were due on May 1 and
officially winners are expected to be notified in August) may be the
last to enjoy the privilege.
US President Barack Obama, who was reelected for a second term last
year, declared immigration reform a priority of his administration.
Speaking before the Senate on June 11, Obama said overhauling America's
dysfunctional immigration system cannot wait. "The system is still
broken. And to truly deal with this issue, Congress needs to act. And
that moment is now," said Obama, a son of an immigrant from Kenya.
The legislation being considered would create a path to US citizenship
for many of the 11 million people who are in the country illegally. It
would also further strengthen security at the US-Mexican border. In
addition, Obama said the legislation would make it easier for foreign
students to stay in the US.
But those now relying on the green card lottery as a path to legal
immigration to the US can forget about their American dreams as Uncle
Sam is about to scrap it as a compromise deal between Democrats
and Republicans. Instead, the new reform package envisages more
opportunities for graduates of American universities with degrees
in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to stay and work
legally in the US.
Yerevan-native Hrant Achikyan was one of 50,000 lucky green card
lottery winners who were randomly selected from around the world as
part of the 2013 Diversity Visa program.
Achikyan, a 25-year-old Armenia-trained lawyer, left for the US about
a month ago. He currently stays with his relatives in Los Angeles,
but still finds it hard to say whether his decision to chase his
American dream was right or wrong.
"I cannot say it until I get a job. Here you can't do anything until
you get a social security number. Once you get it, you can apply for
a driving license and an ID to be able to find a job. And I live in
a place that requires driving a car in order to go to work. That is
why I cannot say anything definite yet as to whether coming here was
a good thing or not," Achikyan told ArmeniaNow from the US. At the
same time, the young man thinks he still has more opportunities in
life in the US than he would have, had he decided to stay in Armenia.
The end of the green card lottery era may also come as an upset for
some businesses and firms that have earned money in the past two
decades by helping people file and pursue their applications.
A company owned by Echmiadzin resident Artur Lazarian in addition
to other services has traditionally provided services to potential
green card applicants. He said if the lottery is discontinued, he
will be deprived of some additional earnings as in October/November
when the lottery is traditionally held they serve up to 200 customers
charging 1,500 drams (about $3.50) for the service.
Lazarian said workers of his company also file green card lottery
applications for themselves and their families. In the past five
years, according to him, three of his 12 employees have been selected
to pursue US permanent residence visas. There have also been other
winners among their customers. Lazarian said the number of applicants
using the services of his office has been growing from year to year.
"It is interesting thing that when we first started to offer the
service we had only young adults, people aged 30-35, filing green
card lottery applications, but in recent years we also had elderly
people aged up to 85 among our customers. It means that now all,
from young to old, want to take part in this lottery," he said.
A Gallup survey conducted in Armenia in recent years shows that up to
40 percent of the country's population see their future abroad. Most
people who emigrate from Armenia do so in search of better social
and economic conditions of life as well as justice that they often
do not get in their native country.
A Russian immigration program, Compatriots, has been operating in
Armenia in the last few years, attracting thousands of Armenians to
resettle to Russian provinces with government support. The program is
now suspended, but it is expected to reopen later this year offering
even more attractive terms for potential immigrants.
Demography experts and some political and civic circles consider
programs like the US Diversity Visa or the Russian 'Compatriots'
scheme as detrimental to countries like Armenia. But they are also
convinced that unless the social and economic problems of the people
are addressed by the government, more Armenians will find a way to
emigrate with or without such immigration channels.
Meanwhile, during this summer season hundreds of Armenians leave the
country on a daily basis, many on buses heading to Russia to find
work as labor migrants. The situation is particularly alarming for
economically depressed areas of the country like Shirak. People in
Gumri joke on the subject that a young man without a job but with a
plane ticket is already a prospective husband.
Still, government officials in Armenia downplay the scale of
emigration. Senior ruling Republican Party member Galust Sahakyan
believes that the opposition simply speculates on the subject of
emigration for political gains. He thinks that Armenians will leave
and come back and there is no danger in it because "Armenians lived
even without statehood and will continue to live and become stronger."
- See more at:
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2013/06/20/playing-the-odds-end-to-us-green-card-lottery/#sthash.0dDc25bp.dpuf
From: Baghdasarian