Posted on 06/19/2002 6:36:32 PM PDT by WakeUpChristian
Fewer seek U.S. visas
By SONYA ROSS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The first U.S. visa lottery since Sept. 11 wasn't exactly a boon for America's new friends in the war on terrorism.
Only a few people from places like Afghanistan and Yemen can seek to move permanently to the United States. They were outnumbered by would-be immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya and Sudan, all on the U.S. government's list of terror-sponsoring states.
That's not because U.S. officials are trying to exclude certain people. Fewer overall applied to come.
The lottery grants a chance at 55,000 visas for reasons other than business or family ties - green cards that are often the key to a better life in a new land.
Overall, 6.2 million applicants qualified for the 2002 lottery, out of 8.7 million who sent in applications, the said Wednesday in announcing the annual lottery's results. That's a stark decline from last year, when 10 million qualified for inclusion in the lottery out of 13 million who sent in applications.
The department did not disclose how many applicants from each country were deemed eligible to participate in this year's lottery.
But the decline in the number of applicants indicates a chill has set in since the Sept. 11 attacks.
The 30-day application period began Oct. 1, 2001 - as the United States launched the military campaign in Afghanistan and found anthrax in the mail. Worry was still high because of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and anti-Muslim sentiment was evident.
"The climate of concern about attitudes in the United States to people from Muslim and Arab countries certainly would have been very different at that time than it would be now," said Jack Martin, special projects director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
Plus, Martin said, "People applying for the lottery in Arab and Muslim countries are likely to recognize that since Sept. 11, their applications will receive a much more rigorous scrutiny."
As it is, background checks for last year's lottery winners have taken longer, particularly for those from Islamic countries. The number of visas granted to Muslims under the 2001 lottery was down considerably; 14,074 were approved, compared with 16,308 the year before.
Now, it seems some looked at that and gave up on the process before it began.
Although no numbers were released on how many applicants from each country qualified for the lottery, the number of winners gives a hint.
In Afghanistan, for example, only 45 visa applicants were chosen in this year's lottery, compared with 208 for last year.
Numbers for other Islamic countries also declined. Egypt had 1,551 lottery winners, down from 2,046; Saudi Arabia had 38, down from 50; Yemen - which recently detained 85 people with suspected ties to the al-Qaida terrorist network - went from 223 to 44.
Syria fell from 67 to 62 and Iran from 1,703 to 768. Iraq, which had 117 lottery winners in 2001, had 71 this year. Sudan fell off from 1,820 to 1,297. Only one person came up a winner in tiny Qatar, where four people were tapped last year.
The lottery, conducted at random, had some winners as well.
Libya, with its history of encouraging terrorism, saw 61 lottery winners this year, up from 26 the year before. The number of visa slots going to Morocco increased by more than 1,000, to 3,083. And Bulgaria had 2,843 winners, up from 2,489.
The largest numbers went to Ghana, with 6,333 lottery winners, and Nigeria, 5,989. Both, however, experienced a decline from the previous year.
Lottery winners don't automatically get a visa - they must first pass security checks, and still must wait up to a year for entry. The selections announced Wednesday can seek visas during fiscal 2003, which begins Oct. 1.
Bulk quantities of passport forms DS-11 (Application for Passport) and DS-82 (Application for Passport by Mail) are now available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Orders can be placed by phone from Monday through Friday at (202) 512-1800, or, by fax at (202) 512-2250.
Mail orders can be sent to:
Superintendent of Documents P.O. Box 371954 Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954
The stock numbers are:
DS-11 Stock Number: 044-000-02510-8, $8.50 for 50 forms
DS-82 Stock Number: 044-000-02511-6, $10.00 for 50 forms
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