Diversity Immigrant Visa (original) (raw)

Immigration lottery for entry into the United States

New immigrants to the United States (2019–2023), in family and employment categories, by country of birth

>100,000 50,000–100,000 20,000–50,000 10,000–20,000 5,000–10,000 <5,000 United States and its territories

New immigrants to the United States (2019–2023), in diversity category, by country of birth

>10,000 5,000–10,000 2,000–5,000 1,000–2,000 500–1,000 <500 Ineligible United States and its territories

The Diversity Immigrant Visa program, also known as the green card lottery, is a United States government lottery program for receiving an immigrant visa followed by a permanent resident card. The Immigration Act of 1990 established the current and permanent Diversity Visa (DV) program.

The lottery is administered by the Department of State and conducted under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It provides up to 55,000 immigrant visas annually and aims to diversify the immigrant population in the United States, by selecting applicants from countries with low numbers of immigrants in the previous five years. More than 22 million people apply for the lottery each year, which means that fewer than 1 in 400 applicants receive visas.

Applicants enter the lottery by completing a form on the Department of State website, free of charge. Only those selected in the lottery must pay a fee to continue the process.

Attempts have been made to end the program since 2005.

History

Legislative and administrative history

Starting in 1986, the United States established several temporary immigrant visa programs outside of the usual immigration preferences (family members or by employment). The first program was NP-5, run from 1987 to 1989, where a limited number of visas was issued on a first-come, first-served basis. The second program was OP-1, run through a lottery from 1989 to 1991 and available for natives of countries with low levels of recent immigration to the United States.[1][2] The third program, AA-1, from 1992 to 1994, was available for natives from a select group of countries that had been "adversely affected" by earlier immigration laws. Intentionally and in practice, people from Ireland and Northern Ireland benefited disproportionately from these programs. They were also known as the Donnelly, Berman and Morrison visas, respectively, after the sponsoring congressmen.[3] The Government of Ireland has actively supported the various lottery bills and similar legislation since their inception.[4]

The Donnelly visa benefited "several thousand Irish" (almost 4,000) and the Berman visa had some 500 Irish beneficiaries.[5] Under the three-year Morrison program (1992–94), by far the largest in size, those born in Ireland or Northern Ireland received a set-aside of 40% of all diversity visas, for a total of 48,000 set aside visas out of 120,000. Natives or citizens of Poland, via the sheer volume of applicants, received the second largest number of visas. The United Kingdom came in a distant third with some 6,000 visas in the Morrison program.[6][7][8][9]

The Immigration Act of 1990 was passed with bipartisan support and signed by President George H. W. Bush.[10] The legislation established the current and permanent Diversity Visa (DV) program, where 55,000 immigrant visas are available in an annual lottery. The lottery aims to diversify the immigrant population in the United States, by selecting applicants mostly from countries with low numbers of immigrants to the United States in the previous five years.[9]

From fiscal year 1999, the number of visas in the DV program was reduced by up to 5,000, to partially compensate the number of immigrants under the NACARA program, and from fiscal year 2025, also to compensate the number of immigrants under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.[11] As a result, the number of visas in the DV program was reduced to 50,000 from fiscal years 1999 to 2019, about 54,800 from 2020 to 2024, and about 51,350 in 2025.[12][13][14]

The first DV lottery, for fiscal year 1995, was named DV-1.[15] For fiscal years 1996 to 1999, the name was in the format DV-YY, where YY was the last two digits of the year.[16][17][18][19] Since fiscal year 2000 the lotteries have been named in the format DV-YYYY, with the full year number.[20] The year in the name refers to the fiscal year when the immigrant visas will be given, which starts in October of the previous calendar year, and the entry period for the lottery occurs almost a year earlier. Therefore, there is a two-year difference between the lottery name and its entry period. For example, for DV-2017 (fiscal year starting in October 2016), the entry period was in 2015.[21]

Initially, the DV lottery was administered entirely by mail, and only winners were notified. The entry form moved to an online system starting in DV-2005, but still only winners were notified, by mail.[6] Starting in DV-2010, all applicants are able to verify online whether they were selected.[22] Notification of winners also by mail continued until DV-2011, but since DV-2012 it is done exclusively online.[23]

In 2011, a computer error caused a non-random selection of lottery applicants, leading the Department of State to cancel the initial result.[24] About 22,000 applicants had already been notified and were disappointed to find that their selection was canceled. The Department of State later ran a new selection after correcting the error.[25]

Starting in 2019, for DV-2021, applicants had to hold a valid passport and provide its number on the lottery entry form. This requirement reduced the number of applicants by more than half compared to previous years. In 2022, the requirement was removed after a federal court found that the Department of State had not followed the proper procedure, with a public notice and comments, before implementing it.[26] In 2024, the Department of State began the proper procedure to restore the passport requirement.[27]

Criticism and repeal efforts

Criticism of the program has focused on instances of fraud, racism[28] and the random nature of the lottery, as well as criminal or terrorist actions perpetrated by certain lottery winners.[29][30]

In 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, an Egyptian immigrant who maintained residency in United States through his wife's diversity visa,[31] killed two people and injured four others at Los Angeles International Airport before being shot to death by an El Al security guard.[32][33][34] This led to criticism of the lottery as a security threat.[35][36]

Several attempts have been made to eliminate the lottery. In December 2005, the United States House of Representatives voted 273–148 to add an amendment to the border enforcement bill H.R. 4437 abolishing the DV. Opponents of the lottery said it was susceptible to fraud and was a way for terrorists to enter the country. The Senate never passed the bill. In March 2007, Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) introduced H.R. 1430, which would eliminate the Diversity Visa program. In June 2007, the U.S. House passed H.R. 2764 to eliminate funding for the program, and the Senate did likewise in September.[37]

However, the final version of this bill with amendments, signed into law on December 26, 2007, did not include the removal of funds for the program. Although H.R. 2764 was an appropriation bill and could only cut funds for the lottery during one fiscal year, this was the first time that both the House and the Senate passed a bill to halt the Diversity Visa program.

Rep. Goodlatte reintroduced his Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act (formerly H.R. 1430, now H.R. 2305) on May 7, 2009. The bill would have amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the diversity immigrant program completely, but did not pass. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) introduced the Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009 (H.R. 264) on January 7, 2009. The bill would have doubled the number of diversity visas available to 110,000 yearly. This bill did not pass.[38] A comprehensive analysis of DV lottery issues was prepared in 2011 by Congressional Research Service.[39]

In 2013, the so-called "Gang of Eight" - a bi-partisan group of eight United States Senators - introduced a bill that would have comprehensively reformed the immigration system. The bill would have repealed the Diversity Immigrant Visa program.[10][40] The legislation passed the Senate, but was defeated in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives amid Republican opposition.[10]

In 2017, Sayfullo Habibullaevich Saipov, who had immigrated from Uzbekistan on a diversity visa in 2010, killed eight and injured eleven when he drove his truck down a bike path in Lower Manhattan.[41][42] In response, President Donald Trump, who had earlier called for a return to a "merit-based" immigration system,[43][44] called for an end to the program.[45][46] Following Trump's call to end the program, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, indicated that diversity visa lottery recipients lack thorough vetting, something Politifact rated as false, noting that all recipients of the visa undergo background checks, security screenings, and interviews by consular officers before arrival in the U.S.[47]

Process

Requirements

To enter the lottery, applicants must have been born in an eligible country, with two exceptions: the applicant may claim the spouse's country of birth instead if desired, or a parent's country of birth if neither parent was born in the applicant's country of birth and neither parent legally resided there when the applicant was born. The applicant's country of residence or nationality is irrelevant to the lottery.[48]

If selected in the lottery, to qualify for the immigrant visa, applicants must have completed at least a high school education or at least two years of work experience in an occupation which requires at least two other years of training or experience.[48] They must also satisfy general requirements applicable to all immigrants, mainly related to health, criminal background and means of support.[49]

Applicants enter the lottery by completing a form on the Department of State website, free of charge.[50] Only those selected in the lottery must pay a fee to continue the process.[51]

Geographical distribution

Regions and eligible countries for the Diversity Visa lottery

Eligible Ineligible Eligible Ineligible
North America Asia
Latin America Oceania
Europe United States and its territories
Africa

The visas are distributed among six regions: Africa, Asia, Europe (Turkey, Cyprus and all countries in the former Soviet Union are allocated to Europe, even though some of them are geographically entirely in Asia), Latin America (Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America), North America (consisting only of Canada and the Bahamas), and Oceania.[48][52][53]

Dependent territories are treated as part of their respective sovereign countries, and disputed territories are allocated as recognized by the United States. For example, Bermuda is treated as part of the United Kingdom under Europe, the Gaza Strip is considered part of Egypt under Africa, and the West Bank is considered part of Jordan under Asia. However, there are some exceptions: Northern Ireland and Taiwan are treated as separate countries, and Macau is considered part of Portugal under Europe (even after its sovereignty returned to China in 1999).[48]

Each region that was the origin of more than one sixth of the total number of immigrants to the United States via family and employment categories in the previous five years is considered a "high-admission region" (currently Latin America and Asia), and each region that was the origin of less than one sixth is a "low-admission region" (currently North America, Europe, Africa and Oceania). The proportion of diversity visas given to the low-admission group is set as the proportion of recent immigrants from the high-admission group (currently about 80%),[54] and vice versa. Among regions of the same group, the diversity visas are allocated proportionally to their population, excluding ineligible countries (those that were the origin of more than 50,000 immigrants in the previous five years).[52]

Within each region, the visas are not allocated among individual countries. All applicants from the same region are selected randomly as a whole, for the number of visas allocated for that region, but with the limitation that no single country may receive more than 7% of the total diversity visas (3,850).[48]

Although only up to 55,000 diversity visas are available each year, the lottery selects more than 100,000 applicants. The reason for the larger selection is to ensure that all available diversity visas are eventually given each year, as some applicants are expected to fail general immigration requirements or may decide to withdraw and not to continue the process. As a result, some lottery winners who have received notifications might not obtain visas.[12]

It is also possible that some visas remain available after all initially selected applicants are reviewed. In this case, additional applicants are selected later. For this reason, applicants who were not initially selected in the lottery should keep checking their status online periodically, until the end of the respective fiscal year.[55]

Ineligible countries

Those born in any territory that was the origin of more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States via family and employment categories in the previous five years are not eligible to receive a diversity visa. For DV-2026 (the most recent lottery, with entry period in 2024), natives of the following nations were ineligible: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland and Hong Kong), Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, and Vietnam.[48]

The limit of 50,000 immigrants refers only to people who immigrated via family and employment categories, and does not include other categories such as refugees, asylum seekers, or previous diversity immigrants. For this reason, Afghanistan, Guatemala and Ukraine were not on the ineligible list as of 2024, despite being the origin of over 50,000 total immigrants in the previous five years.[54]

Changes

The first program was in fiscal year 1995, and the following 12 countries were ineligible from the start: Canada, China (mainland), Dominican Republic, El Salvador, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom and its dependent territories (except Northern Ireland and Hong Kong), and Vietnam.[56] Since then, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Honduras, Nigeria, Pakistan and Venezuela have been added to the ineligible list, Taiwan and the United Kingdom have been removed from it, and Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Poland and Russia have been added and later removed from the ineligible list, reflecting shifting levels of immigration from these countries.

Macau was ineligible as part of China only for DV-2002, whose entry period (October 2000) was after the transfer of sovereignty of Macau from Portugal to China (December 1999) but before enactment of the Macau Policy Act (December 2000), which specified that U.S. law would treat Macau as it did before the transfer.[57] Hong Kong was considered as a separate country for the lottery and eligible from the start, but became ineligible as part of China from DV-2022.[58]

Historical eligibility for the Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery, by fiscal year

Country 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Bangladesh Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Brazil Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Canada No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
China[a] No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Colombia Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Cuba Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Dominican Republic No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Ecuador Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
El Salvador No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Guatemala Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Haiti Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Honduras Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
India No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Jamaica No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Mexico No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Nigeria Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Pakistan Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Peru Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Philippines No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Poland Yes Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Russia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
South Korea No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Taiwan No No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
United Kingdom[b] No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes
Venezuela Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No
Vietnam No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Others Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Statistics

Applicants (not including dependents)[14][13][12]

Region DV-2025 DV-2024 DV-2023 DV-2022 DV-2021 DV-2020 DV-2019 DV-2018 DV-2017 DV-2016 DV-2015 DV-2014 DV-2013 DV-2012 DV-2011 DV-2010 DV-2009 DV-2008 DV-2007
Africa 3,100,982 8,145,390 7,832,894 7,746,722 6,672,971 5,936,031 4,818,431 5,272,185 4,657,512 4,405,638 4,209,668 3,539,362 2,780,946 2,590,647 2,472,729
Asia 1,281,046 1,952,489 1,871,824 2,505,838 2,200,641 2,014,130 1,564,534 1,339,518 1,055,433 8,515,565 6,166,632 4,663,357 4,996,568 2,473,602 1,725,702
Europe 2,014,089 4,072,324 4,349,555 4,029,967 3,284,670 3,069,646 2,835,004 2,614,381 2,103,591 1,728,796 1,510,874 1,250,553 1,255,078 1,251,859 1,099,703
Latin America 327,402 528,428 273,033 377,988 246,824 340,528 145,189 119,996 100,634 92,955 90,018 59,530 90,545 115,437 246,753
North America[c] 937 1,445 1,506 1,898 1,951 2,170 1,830 1,832 1,752 2,134 2,204 1,596 1,778 1,489 1,184
Oceania 16,672 22,722 23,201 29,845 30,133 28,641 24,110 26,380 22,410 23,571 22,182 19,613 22,425 22,133 19,491
Total 19,927,656 22,185,619 9,570,291 7,336,302 6,741,128 14,722,798 14,352,013 14,692,258 12,437,190 11,391,146 9,389,098 9,374,292 7,941,332 14,768,659 12,001,578 9,534,011 9,147,340 6,455,167 5,565,562

Applicants (including dependents)[14][13][12]

Region DV-2025 DV-2024 DV-2023 DV-2022 DV-2021 DV-2020 DV-2019 DV-2018 DV-2017 DV-2016 DV-2015 DV-2014 DV-2013 DV-2012 DV-2011 DV-2010 DV-2009 DV-2008 DV-2007
Africa 4,877,931 11,315,826 10,877,791 10,714,881 9,063,669 8,161,205 6,586,302 7,500,543 6,783,699 6,304,219 5,812,174 5,105,302 4,372,560 4,150,759 3,901,093
Asia 2,353,280 3,548,165 3,289,665 4,445,328 3,867,613 3,516,123 2,720,578 2,384,168 1,863,169 10,102,185 7,870,896 6,175,452 6,401,172 3,506,073 2,732,805
Europe 3,915,557 7,185,456 7,620,677 7,068,792 5,820,808 5,111,888 4,731,871 4,434,210 3,672,464 3,022,473 2,593,039 2,154,539 2,174,677 2,120,883 1,910,383
Latin America 654,195 1,090,751 594,954 807,083 539,398 731,730 315,667 266,272 217,443 200,712 193,932 126,168 192,447 243,694 489,144
North America[c] 1,672 2,748 2,864 3,541 3,581 4,263 3,585 3,657 3,356 3,717 3,793 2,624 3,193 2,647 1,968
Oceania 28,072 39,608 39,102 48,988 49,517 48,155 39,884 45,120 37,224 38,962 37,674 33,743 40,964 40,260 34,834
Total 13,191,296 11,830,707 23,182,554 22,425,053 23,088,613 19,344,586 17,573,364 14,397,887 14,633,970 12,577,355 19,672,268 16,511,508 13,597,828 13,185,013 10,064,316 9,070,227

Selected applicants (including dependents)[14][13][12][59][60][61][62]

Region DV-2025 DV-2024 DV-2023 DV-2022 DV-2021 DV-2020 DV-2019 DV-2018 DV-2017 DV-2016 DV-2015 DV-2014 DV-2013 DV-2012 DV-2011 DV-2010 DV-2009 DV-2008 DV-2007
Africa 55,942 55,030 49,119 49,003 53,649 31,562 38,247 49,392 38,500 45,034 58,000 61,943 52,080 50,000 51,004 54,003 53,979 52,824 43,999
Asia 23,198 27,960 24,044 24,001 25,408 15,941 15,619 15,997 13,499 15,002 20,002 23,270 16,045 15,002 14,999 15,001 14,002 14,142 11,929
Europe 43,197 50,161 40,065 39,999 45,002 30,794 30,006 41,706 28,500 27,011 40,000 46,588 33,088 31,001 30,999 29,803 27,921 26,149 21,938
Latin America 4,651 5,331 3,515 3,501 5,501 4,189 2,182 4,995 1,951 3,000 3,999 4,620 2,206 2,002 2,001 1,982 1,893 1,845 3,097
North America[c] 19 15 16 16 29 20 18 15 10 16 14 23 16 15 18 18 12 17 12
Oceania 4,053 4,450 2,503 2,501 2,815 1,378 1,538 3,863 1,450 1,500 3,499 4,215 2,193 2,001 1,600 1,803 1,801 1,713 1,398
Total 131,060 142,947 119,262 119,021 132,404 83,884 87,610 115,968 83,910 91,563 125,514 140,659 105,628 100,021 100,621 102,610 99,608 96,690 82,373

Proportion of applicants who were selected

Region DV-2025 DV-2024 DV-2023 DV-2022 DV-2021 DV-2020 DV-2019 DV-2018 DV-2017 DV-2016 DV-2015 DV-2014 DV-2013 DV-2012 DV-2011 DV-2010 DV-2009 DV-2008 DV-2007
Africa 1.10% 0.28% 0.35% 0.46% 0.42% 0.55% 0.88% 0.83% 0.77% 0.79% 0.88% 1.06% 1.23% 1.27% 1.13%
Asia 1.08% 0.45% 0.47% 0.36% 0.35% 0.43% 0.74% 0.98% 0.86% 0.15% 0.19% 0.24% 0.22% 0.40% 0.44%
Europe 1.15% 0.43% 0.39% 0.59% 0.49% 0.53% 0.85% 1.05% 0.90% 1.03% 1.20% 1.38% 1.28% 1.23% 1.15%
Latin America 0.84% 0.38% 0.37% 0.62% 0.36% 0.41% 1.27% 1.74% 1.01% 1.00% 1.03% 1.57% 0.98% 0.76% 0.63%
North America[c] 1.73% 0.73% 0.63% 0.42% 0.28% 0.38% 0.39% 0.63% 0.48% 0.40% 0.47% 0.69% 0.38% 0.64% 0.61%
Oceania 10.03% 3.48% 3.93% 7.89% 2.93% 3.11% 8.77% 9.34% 5.89% 5.14% 4.25% 5.34% 4.40% 4.25% 4.01%
Total 0.90% 1.12% 0.36% 0.39% 0.50% 0.43% 0.52% 0.87% 0.96% 0.84% 0.51% 0.61% 0.75% 0.76% 0.96% 0.91%

Applicants (including dependents) to the Diversity Visa lottery (for most recent eligible year with available data), as a percentage of each country's population

>2.0% 1.0–2.0% 0.5–1.0% 0.2–0.5% 0.1–0.2% <0.1% United States and its territories Not eligible for any year with available data

Diversity visas issued and adjustments of status[63][64][65]

Region, country or territory 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995
Africa 21,176 19,215 5,801 6,017 20,336 20,532 19,211 20,706 19,686 22,703 23,607 13,582 24,015 24,745 24,648 22,960 18,046 19,548 19,118 17,146 19,227 16,404 18,081 16,998 18,413 16,727 18,928 20,512 20,314
Asia 9,804 11,693 4,498 4,055 6,079 6,290 7,650 8,898 7,570 8,500 9,785 6,481 9,167 8,824 7,759 7,335 7,151 7,402 6,462 6,310 6,557 6,346 6,801 5,263 6,485 7,461 6,757 6,164 6,864
Europe 22,265 21,806 5,795 7,643 17,897 20,434 20,516 15,207 19,811 18,904 17,296 13,093 16,378 16,083 14,241 14,788 12,633 15,626 19,330 21,721 22,323 18,056 17,837 22,385 25,685 24,228 26,078 24,505 24,289
Latin America 1,878 1,961 2,166 854 977 1,631 1,830 1,370 1,459 1,472 1,029 742 978 1,008 782 835 1,699 2,729 2,462 2,163 2,024 1,929 1,914 2,265 2,731 2,438 2,543 2,264 2,785
North America[c] 7 12 21 13 8 2 3 5 7 2 16 3 2 13 1 5 6 9 10 12 6 8 16 17 4 7 9 10 6
Oceania 863 1,195 631 543 592 824 766 532 844 761 838 562 578 639 605 710 541 831 769 692 675 625 801 787 797 704 712 707 800
Total 55,993 55,882 18,912 19,125 45,889 49,713 49,976 46,718 49,377 52,342 52,571 34,463 51,118 51,312 48,036 46,633 40,076 46,145 48,151 48,044 50,812 43,368 45,450 47,715 54,115 51,565 55,027 54,162 55,058
Afghanistan 573 723 87 165 265 231 144 192 28 95 59 43 25 66 46 32 16 25 9 25 8 30 96 21 64 57 56 69 132
Albania 1,568 2,054 270 1,296 2,284 2,630 2,436 1,506 1,910 1,571 994 528 965 1,645 2,033 2,057 1,229 1,564 2,279 2,207 2,035 2,086 3,483 3,428 3,850 3,706 3,850 2,487 672
Algeria 3,846 2,380 814 783 1,649 1,346 996 1,277 1,093 971 1,058 343 846 797 798 823 338 476 420 300 343 572 441 501 673 553 321 669 511
Andorra 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Angola 255 293 17 9 60 20 12 37 8 10 13 7 15 6 14 4 4 6 2 2 5 2 3 1 1 1 11 10 19
Antigua and Barbuda 3 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 4 6 6 0 1 6 1 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 7 2
Argentina 84 106 92 11 49 32 36 30 52 73 32 37 57 91 62 60 45 58 69 102 143 96 59 139 147 85 94 92 49
Armenia 2,328 1,308 133 373 1,313 1,662 1,566 1,000 1,556 1,272 903 644 1,013 1,001 950 837 567 484 581 531 449 329 363 378 530 472 1,090 1,331 766
Aruba 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 6 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2
Australia 98 500 221 263 340 507 398 331 486 406 433 292 275 285 187 238 174 318 331 172 215 99 157 211 218 121 132 103 191
Austria 8 18 15 9 4 14 34 10 48 24 42 34 69 56 54 30 30 29 38 35 43 36 46 61 75 84 97 86 139
Azerbaijan 521 720 188 189 822 508 434 204 289 190 190 149 222 207 217 163 77 111 157 199 164 153 141 175 181 207 181 256 232
Bahamas 7 12 21 13 8 2 3 5 7 2 16 3 2 13 1 5 6 9 10 12 6 8 16 17 4 7 9 10 6
Bahrain 3 4 2 2 3 0 1 2 2 2 4 10 2 1 4 0 1 0 1 5 6 1 4 4 5 0 2 0 5
Bangladesh ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible 295 3,090 3,017 2,663 2,286 3,518 3,421 2,542 1,837 755 1,101 1,556 1,559 1,882 3,347 3,362 2,943 3,288
Barbados 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 6 8 0 4 6 14 3 2 4 3 3 1 2 1 5 6 7 9 5 10 10
Belarus 1,052 863 503 361 929 828 801 568 868 844 848 285 684 734 780 769 517 499 531 556 623 465 512 505 415 405 286 304 259
Belgium 11 18 11 6 16 27 42 13 34 24 39 47 26 54 39 32 20 15 25 21 26 21 25 50 76 47 68 101 122
Belize 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 1 12 1 8 3 5 7 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 15 4 2 8 0 2
Benin 274 266 58 92 364 237 237 282 193 182 230 82 220 223 198 183 121 139 84 43 59 22 26 25 21 30 29 14 7
Bhutan 78 80 18 5 20 7 7 9 1 7 8 4 4 0 5 7 0 2 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Bolivia 14 29 19 4 7 12 10 24 23 26 33 28 30 76 53 79 36 94 50 30 49 41 14 21 30 22 50 61 41
Bosnia and Herzegovina 33 61 15 14 23 47 84 48 77 39 30 44 33 37 62 31 40 42 41 34 30 13 34 47 37 35 70 83 112
Botswana 0 4 0 0 2 0 3 1 4 2 1 0 5 9 0 10 1 1 3 2 2 6 4 5 0 1 5 0 4
Brazil ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible 232 160 231 107 206 99 211 300 232 219 213 219 194
Brunei 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Bulgaria 87 142 82 109 230 343 540 614 834 1,026 965 456 653 571 753 1,093 1,328 1,711 2,583 2,470 2,796 1,925 2,416 2,818 3,733 3,545 2,224 772 1,355
Burkina Faso 94 45 7 24 95 110 138 132 122 120 223 103 117 109 92 117 31 53 19 10 7 0 4 6 2 3 4 1 0
Burundi 92 140 43 50 141 97 75 64 47 37 28 11 28 42 22 9 2 16 5 13 2 0 1 1 5 3 1 7 7
Cambodia 66 166 51 69 86 121 198 266 152 334 399 188 168 132 120 92 89 52 35 56 47 49 75 50 34 10 5 26 32
Cameroon 1,408 1,705 653 460 1,661 1,626 1,214 1,625 1,455 1,289 1,619 847 1,706 1,581 1,530 1,190 748 804 626 495 526 460 353 348 682 387 546 344 312
Cape Verde 20 0 0 3 3 1 2 0 12 2 7 0 10 0 8 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 35 69 112 66
Central African Republic 3 8 0 0 7 4 2 8 3 1 3 0 2 11 3 0 0 1 2 1 2 3 2 0 4 0 5 11 0
Chad 102 136 25 12 22 18 10 18 15 9 10 3 16 6 10 7 7 3 9 6 3 5 17 3 8 2 8 7 5
Chile 13 12 20 7 14 24 13 1 10 24 12 6 16 11 31 14 28 26 13 9 3 10 6 25 38 32 36 42 24
Colombia ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible 2 ineligible 318
Comoros 3 0 0 0 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 5 2 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Congo 77 136 50 37 166 100 42 50 49 55 47 12 45 34 20 43 27 25 18 3 6 5 8 5 10 5 3 0 6
Cook Islands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Costa Rica 27 3 15 6 8 10 13 10 6 25 20 2 12 17 2 3 6 12 18 7 8 1 9 42 29 19 16 6 26
Croatia 6 14 17 13 12 23 27 22 30 41 20 34 20 29 36 18 29 22 27 43 52 19 36 68 111 92 119 169 213
Cuba 809 612 517 361 103 187 384 536 474 302 193 70 231 140 190 256 109 364 294 402 314 503 456 579 1,123 880 1,014 358 166
Curaçao 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 2 1
Cyprus 4 5 0 1 3 5 8 8 8 7 3 2 2 8 14 5 5 9 7 3 15 5 8 29 22 14 24 28 32
Czech Republic 10 7 11 10 28 41 20 28 38 41 30 23 34 42 37 81 26 42 75 85 125 53 58 91 79 82 115 108 124
Democratic Republic of the Congo 973 903 592 478 3,096 2,874 2,669 2,778 2,641 2,442 2,235 1,221 1,522 924 601 511 317 354 296 67 288 169 154 141 112 88 76 86 97
Denmark 5 6 2 1 8 11 21 14 17 21 20 17 17 34 12 23 14 16 17 17 20 8 27 31 50 48 53 60 108
Djibouti 40 77 35 13 29 43 32 33 18 13 18 8 18 9 11 15 5 5 2 3 8 2 4 5 3 8 6 10 7
Dominica 2 1 1 0 4 0 3 4 2 6 11 9 10 15 21 3 4 2 6 5 8 1 15 18 16 13 8 11 6
East Timor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Ecuador 219 163 102 62 82 287 ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible 113 75 138 131 391 181 176 348 137 131 140 224 234 281
Egypt 2,714 2,147 447 1,297 3,312 3,466 3,580 2,855 3,456 3,500 3,383 2,013 3,268 3,253 3,651 3,310 3,527 3,538 3,511 1,726 982 1,106 1,284 1,525 1,952 1,910 1,930 2,087 3,081
Equatorial Guinea 0 0 1 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 3 2 0 0 0
Eritrea 35 57 15 11 116 139 81 149 186 173 245 144 381 368 392 302 194 162 168 94 142 96 311 113 130 354 652 279 484
Estonia 12 10 2 2 9 24 13 10 21 17 23 12 21 13 16 19 16 14 19 26 33 21 22 49 65 26 46 51 60
Eswatini 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 1 3 0 2 0 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 0 1
Ethiopia 585 621 67 339 1,696 2,106 2,560 2,143 2,469 2,543 2,393 1,419 3,536 3,774 3,690 3,549 3,248 3,502 3,492 3,659 3,784 3,222 3,464 1,482 2,728 2,163 3,051 3,272 3,539
Faroe Islands 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fiji 676 537 292 216 139 184 214 130 185 218 254 174 174 232 291 313 273 336 281 410 317 459 488 412 461 478 460 538 494
Finland 13 15 5 4 18 21 29 22 29 16 25 35 40 34 22 9 13 31 26 29 15 15 14 25 61 80 77 189 157
France 107 119 70 57 208 257 258 211 346 326 228 186 275 272 241 308 197 188 184 159 215 147 160 292 429 333 291 343 508
French Guiana 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
French Polynesia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 4 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 2
French Southern and Antarctic Lands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gabon 19 20 8 3 16 7 13 9 12 18 6 10 7 7 5 18 9 8 5 2 20 5 0 3 2 3 2 10 3
Gambia 22 40 3 6 16 20 15 6 13 7 11 11 14 15 26 7 12 24 22 3 4 4 18 13 12 41 38 77 66
Georgia 768 1,290 265 399 662 676 548 368 507 345 411 293 461 441 360 284 221 225 179 314 193 122 136 104 190 137 133 264 148
Germany 245 309 88 92 203 311 284 293 535 497 584 595 860 964 910 817 536 540 572 510 472 454 757 1,191 1,617 1,195 1,074 1,038 998
Ghana 659 355 229 111 640 777 803 432 526 1,460 1,895 1,689 2,460 2,660 1,912 1,868 978 1,209 1,134 805 1,610 1,809 1,125 1,972 1,798 2,057 2,720 3,850 2,265
Greece 45 51 8 19 59 71 96 54 98 79 54 30 42 43 76 84 55 54 62 58 41 39 38 66 73 42 76 127 171
Grenada 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 1 2 6 1 7 2 4 1 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 8 2 6 6 13 31
Guadeloupe 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 2
Guatemala 32 ineligible ineligible 11 19 35 13 9 20 44 ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible 30 13 9 4 5 5 11 17 33 46 82 103 75 170
Guinea 343 377 41 38 300 155 205 293 262 264 257 113 185 268 86 109 35 49 20 23 18 25 38 24 53 87 55 64 76
Guinea-Bissau 8 10 0 1 3 0 1 0 2 0 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Guyana 7 1 1 0 6 8 2 4 14 6 16 7 30 32 19 7 7 29 12 15 21 17 9 29 52 47 47 63 167
Haiti ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible 87 69 46 72 181
Honduras ineligible ineligible 46 20 15 49 30 26 31 38 24 23 26 26 10 14 5 11 6 10 9 3 21 23 17 53 34 71 68
Hong Kong ineligible ineligible 153 58 46 56 18 55 34 46 40 10 27 23 32 48 37 49 50 88 113 109 79 101 203 215 375 250 328
Hungary 29 65 50 33 38 84 83 79 121 103 112 80 125 65 138 82 67 87 118 71 122 57 93 100 144 168 172 251 226
Iceland 0 5 4 0 0 1 9 1 11 10 15 15 13 30 9 4 7 6 1 7 9 8 7 20 10 22 29 51 32
Indonesia 45 106 85 58 63 64 41 45 44 68 66 100 89 122 122 156 148 152 111 213 399 329 223 447 161 152 98 89 71
Iran 1,049 2,024 244 131 298 318 2,106 2,788 2,661 2,386 3,802 2,428 2,023 1,854 1,117 841 839 543 450 363 365 785 525 313 334 383 326 280 281
Iraq 412 650 30 86 264 297 150 146 23 49 66 36 57 37 50 88 48 32 19 37 16 57 61 34 57 41 45 34 41
Ireland 2 15 10 3 21 37 31 36 50 44 52 76 87 61 51 51 50 55 76 113 157 65 86 204 318 367 459 518 481
Israel 5 52 40 26 64 49 34 35 20 58 74 45 41 30 43 47 38 50 40 109 66 87 58 28 68 45 24 56 36
Italy 77 161 120 66 141 162 244 194 289 282 157 207 186 167 161 128 86 91 90 74 126 50 56 128 280 274 262 282 413
Ivory Coast 272 383 144 76 424 386 442 510 377 376 325 156 297 230 215 194 138 103 89 62 117 42 70 72 58 133 119 140 102
Japan 104 331 237 135 223 164 117 194 143 269 287 216 177 199 207 282 231 246 264 450 633 447 259 293 431 322 297 230 134
Jordan 480 713 542 266 330 254 96 176 72 181 122 62 87 72 95 25 37 52 29 27 51 79 43 47 104 72 28 46 71
Kazakhstan 1,310 865 325 392 576 514 460 243 460 325 316 237 236 201 200 172 108 135 159 251 242 268 263 255 259 256 129 217 82
Kenya 812 1,157 278 393 1,207 1,220 1,014 1,116 903 1,216 1,281 752 1,918 2,420 2,365 2,187 1,333 1,807 1,786 1,993 2,272 1,487 1,014 897 884 835 505 544 862
Kiribati 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 3 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kosovo 342 295 114 113 232 230 318 164 146 95 126 71 83 91 50 2
Kuwait 64 106 52 37 51 81 45 59 29 58 66 31 25 29 10 22 14 5 13 14 16 19 22 20 24 12 14 19 16
Kyrgyzstan 1,888 1,394 358 149 383 383 223 135 286 235 189 182 147 130 122 132 81 80 94 116 138 61 67 60 81 46 24 33 34
Laos 7 11 0 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 1 0 6 0 3 7 6 2 4 1 0 9 1 4 1
Latvia 29 26 23 19 23 34 22 31 30 57 57 22 70 36 41 19 35 53 58 88 98 98 96 120 112 110 97 82 118
Lebanon 107 209 107 26 77 44 41 72 52 58 87 94 56 46 83 77 54 54 44 27 34 49 56 34 43 53 37 38 56
Lesotho 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0
Liberia 393 531 46 89 653 1,249 997 1,553 1,744 1,754 1,231 786 1,003 848 831 580 507 388 309 488 439 461 314 539 503 663 570 423 320
Libya 286 192 59 24 72 47 115 127 72 51 82 60 44 70 56 23 11 19 16 2 55 13 16 28 19 43 11 40 56
Liechtenstein 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0
Lithuania 60 73 43 35 109 106 96 91 167 156 141 129 167 133 106 128 192 353 638 1,385 2,039 1,139 958 901 823 1,020 484 525 436
Luxembourg 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 3 2 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 4 0 4 9 2
Macau 4 4 0 0 1 1 1 8 17 3 4 6 2 8 3 11 1 5 6 1 2 ineligible 2 7 54 53 85 157 141
Madagascar 7 14 7 3 16 9 2 29 9 17 23 3 17 15 27 13 5 10 4 10 10 0 8 4 15 4 19 14 13
Malawi 16 12 2 0 7 5 10 0 11 15 16 1 13 17 13 20 4 13 12 15 15 16 10 17 34 14 46 23 17
Malaysia 17 34 18 21 30 38 30 48 14 38 20 27 48 41 30 39 31 22 48 57 98 68 43 40 45 58 36 60 45
Maldives 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mali 35 46 6 5 25 34 15 39 23 21 29 20 23 38 43 34 22 20 8 6 11 6 11 20 19 44 53 51 60
Malta 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 5 0 0 0 2 0 4 6 0 2 9 6 3 3 1 15
Marshall Islands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Martinique 0 0 1 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 2 1 0
Mauritania 98 86 6 7 17 13 13 6 6 0 7 3 12 2 8 3 1 7 3 6 2 8 10 11 7 5 3 2 4
Mauritius 0 6 1 2 5 3 2 11 16 6 4 7 24 20 21 22 3 2 4 15 11 8 10 16 20 22 15 27 32
Micronesia 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Moldova 358 481 168 226 626 574 1,369 1,189 1,566 1,211 906 684 582 399 273 279 163 152 193 325 244 173 151 198 185 166 102 192 153
Monaco 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Mongolia 153 196 197 114 143 160 97 157 55 79 116 91 209 108 129 199 70 112 42 19 34 40 16 4 9 13 0 0 3
Montenegro 17 33 5 10 20 14 13 7 6 11 11 5 4 11 4 8 29 1
Morocco 2,773 2,559 1,126 719 1,132 1,011 1,080 1,115 912 864 894 376 987 1,782 2,004 2,129 1,672 1,831 2,243 1,753 2,045 1,205 3,365 2,180 2,294 1,255 1,270 383 769
Mozambique 0 1 0 4 1 0 3 0 1 5 0 2 0 3 1 0 1 0 0 2 3 2 6 3 0 0 4 7 11
Myanmar 662 422 96 82 210 125 148 140 88 200 267 197 253 282 371 113 95 463 292 192 237 462 384 329 276 232 204 140 141
Namibia 0 6 0 4 0 4 5 3 7 0 7 2 4 0 10 0 0 3 5 2 3 0 1 3 3 3 0 2 4
Nauru 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nepal 3,375 3,345 1,372 2,085 2,795 3,307 3,477 3,247 3,370 3,504 3,377 1,953 2,017 1,936 1,615 2,073 1,191 1,457 1,789 1,775 1,754 521 283 87 159 168 102 82 74
Netherlands 5 14 13 17 27 19 31 40 46 71 35 61 52 80 103 68 45 52 51 40 52 25 27 61 102 100 124 186 241
Netherlands Antilles 0 1 12 3 2 6 11 1 3 5 0 6 7 1 6 6 7
New Caledonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
New Zealand 58 119 104 53 92 115 127 66 149 132 131 87 109 80 84 117 70 118 131 79 118 62 132 113 93 82 80 51 79
Nicaragua 58 14 53 7 5 4 3 5 4 2 28 7 22 20 26 14 8 7 9 10 15 0 9 8 22 48 75 135 116
Niger 10 33 7 8 22 21 6 15 15 18 18 3 20 20 21 42 20 26 13 11 18 15 12 8 10 2 6 10 2
Nigeria ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible 2,467 3,274 1,887 2,810 2,834 3,275 3,425 3,183 3,271 2,528 3,335 3,386 2,694 2,854 3,262 3,008 3,008 3,750 3,858 3,852
Norfolk Island 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0
North Korea 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 3 2 0 0 3 0 1 2 3 12
North Macedonia 188 224 61 61 194 284 235 206 263 183 148 68 177 150 205 219 163 151 183 106 123 111 133 169 210 209 172 256 106
Northern Ireland 0 2 0 0 3 2 4 6 15 18 14 15 17 10 13 3 16 20 31 24 26 5 18 27 52 54 47 79 100
Norway 4 8 0 3 2 12 9 3 4 0 16 9 12 12 11 10 17 19 9 8 14 5 8 23 32 35 23 90 100
Oman 15 17 3 2 8 5 6 4 1 2 1 2 0 2 1 5 1 1 3 0 2 0 3 4 0 0 1 3 1
Pakistan ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible 2,484 1,469 2,109 1,772 1,365 1,426 1,823
Palau 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
Panama 0 4 4 6 0 4 0 1 5 7 5 7 5 17 9 5 6 10 4 13 3 5 6 27 17 9 10 15 13
Papua New Guinea 6 10 2 2 4 0 1 0 1 2 9 0 1 8 12 2 5 0 3 0 7 3 1 6 3 2 0 0 1
Paraguay 3 0 0 6 5 1 2 2 2 1 4 6 4 17 3 5 7 2 7 8 2 0 7 2 19 12 3 11 7
Peru 575 119 653 ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible 922 1,566 1,406 863 810 813 571 401 411 355 293 434 468
Poland 120 192 92 37 215 277 287 327 412 500 829 ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible 2,090 2,957 3,256 2,899 2,631 ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible 3,838 3,849 3,851
Portugal 7 13 7 4 5 25 15 11 29 27 20 16 17 9 16 12 8 6 15 22 28 9 16 24 36 74 168 227 576
Qatar 43 60 11 5 24 26 9 16 15 15 14 3 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 3 0 3 3 2 4 2 1 1 0
Réunion 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Romania 127 188 106 94 242 199 321 342 539 498 423 589 482 366 343 876 893 1,258 1,515 1,147 1,425 953 1,899 2,460 3,268 3,026 2,667 1,933 2,727
Russia 2,988 2,784 414 947 2,506 2,175 1,812 1,401 2,028 1,928 1,680 1,096 1,552 1,095 ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible 1,333 1,521 1,275 1,494 2,564 2,209 2,013 1,937 2,165 2,581
Rwanda 658 661 155 115 338 277 161 242 199 139 158 43 64 65 32 44 19 16 15 8 5 6 40 5 42 17 15 20 10
Saint Kitts and Nevis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 3 0 2 2 2 0 2 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0
Saint Lucia 3 0 0 0 0 9 10 1 5 15 9 1 9 7 4 2 1 1 1 0 2 2 0 4 5 7 3 6 4
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 5 9 1 4 5 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 5 6 6 4 2 7
Samoa 4 1 1 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 9 2 11 1 5 2 6 0 0 3 6 4 2 0 1 2
São Tomé and Príncipe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
Saudi Arabia 205 450 117 143 262 218 111 124 89 109 88 56 41 34 37 29 13 18 19 7 16 25 34 43 40 17 5 12 13
Senegal 117 109 10 13 83 94 98 139 104 109 91 51 128 128 163 104 71 74 66 33 60 58 98 47 120 142 181 264 392
Serbia 104 152 23 67 213 245 314 213 216 206 171 120 156 158 211 351 261 13
Serbia and Montenegro 252 201 205 208 109 279 373 304 407 400 489 812
Seychelles 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 2 3 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Sierra Leone 293 207 70 13 172 119 340 383 354 449 719 287 317 314 547 438 206 175 138 159 146 810 776 830 373 500 867 1,026 429
Singapore 6 17 6 8 11 8 9 12 2 32 6 14 12 11 14 21 8 17 13 27 45 37 26 20 15 10 10 13 1
Sint Maarten 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Slovakia 8 21 4 8 13 26 31 26 44 36 36 17 37 43 45 67 96 128 213 217 290 190 228 194 277 253 465 419 406
Slovenia 2 2 5 2 4 3 12 8 5 1 4 2 2 5 7 6 4 1 1 9 2 4 1 8 10 5 18 17 16
Solomon Islands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Somalia 253 82 4 0 2 11 56 104 59 46 78 28 52 71 70 40 21 42 61 38 98 211 376 644 347 285 226 301 351
South Africa 116 266 106 38 180 175 215 182 197 217 319 225 309 303 301 235 151 164 161 132 342 265 201 406 367 467 369 694 953
South Sudan 3 18 3 2 4 10 6 11 1 0 0 0 0
Spain 31 96 47 38 77 85 108 101 183 183 95 75 86 80 75 56 49 35 61 29 52 25 17 56 80 96 107 151 222
Sri Lanka 883 583 438 225 331 360 160 324 201 301 296 217 336 441 548 466 299 259 286 287 592 403 261 162 270 312 281 187 200
Sudan 1,980 1,704 249 403 1,548 1,680 1,174 1,833 1,191 965 436 308 569 557 592 502 279 359 384 223 511 611 861 1,133 1,425 888 699 1,002 692
Suriname 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 3 1 0 3 1 2 3 0 0 0 7 1 4 7 9 3 6 5 25
Sweden 8 11 9 8 11 33 53 46 48 35 62 62 43 54 46 50 61 50 46 43 72 35 56 115 160 126 140 284 234
Switzerland 14 20 15 10 13 20 35 31 56 61 40 50 69 79 96 71 44 72 58 78 93 50 79 176 251 272 394 202 209
Syria 137 240 84 36 83 55 128 164 134 138 91 72 67 37 53 40 16 20 17 10 28 31 43 22 23 49 26 56 23
Taiwan 114 301 178 142 180 174 160 167 103 215 160 158 214 231 251 275 275 266 252 577 1,091 1,344 ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible ineligible
Tajikistan 1,676 723 243 159 919 698 419 239 339 248 209 152 182 121 80 66 33 27 32 54 35 63 26 80 56 44 42 26 51
Tanzania 122 66 21 10 50 39 46 32 60 28 51 62 81 65 137 72 81 122 104 83 191 137 115 137 197 106 185 214 322
Thailand 444 142 51 36 60 32 19 31 26 19 31 22 36 32 49 45 37 46 60 63 119 155 90 69 65 64 31 45 20
Togo 871 838 186 208 757 664 504 688 547 565 514 281 526 507 483 469 468 458 1,084 1,314 1,434 564 441 328 199 256 120 100 40
Tonga 18 28 11 8 15 13 24 1 15 2 11 1 9 22 27 27 14 51 21 23 16 2 20 37 18 19 40 14 33
Trinidad and Tobago 23 16 18 8 6 29 17 20 53 62 45 43 53 103 76 48 55 60 34 32 28 30 52 209 139 184 106 164 253
Tunisia 102 136 60 38 47 62 63 100 38 40 49 26 42 68 53 43 46 47 46 38 33 60 42 74 66 81 50 95 88
Turkey 1,476 1,330 588 708 1,387 1,821 1,386 796 1,245 1,084 712 899 993 1,058 1,041 972 755 709 826 1,192 1,180 702 590 669 931 1,520 1,613 1,556 1,404
Turkmenistan 381 547 235 61 177 157 93 75 105 106 70 72 85 77 59 78 40 44 46 50 41 18 22 23 26 45 21 23 5
Tuvalu 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Uganda 218 206 69 64 133 177 92 166 171 184 204 111 211 158 170 152 122 96 98 73 100 100 66 62 112 113 143 189 196
Ukraine 1,787 2,636 938 1,101 2,062 2,653 2,040 1,787 1,313 1,770 1,844 1,439 1,676 1,807 1,714 1,914 3,333 3,119 3,309 3,191 2,935 3,395 2,443 3,491 3,461 2,657 1,982 2,195 2,147
United Arab Emirates 95 85 50 71 78 64 31 28 40 36 40 41 22 5 11 3 13 10 6 11 7 22 33 29 15 8 2 18 6
Uruguay 4 0 2 5 7 9 8 8 5 9 1 3 4 8 7 12 2 4 3 21 20 13 5 16 8 5 10 18 19
Uzbekistan 2,398 2,413 89 314 823 2,058 3,199 2,378 2,524 3,032 3,385 3,212 3,596 3,356 2,388 2,274 1,067 958 926 975 787 614 442 449 338 256 183 232 177
Vanuatu 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Venezuela ineligible 881 621 340 645 929 1,274 684 735 802 560 476 448 391 253 155 125 169 158 126 187 101 85 208 133 129 126 140 137
Yemen 662 625 228 13 70 28 267 397 171 200 195 66 40 33 51 22 21 22 23 17 12 91 37 28 45 36 20 34 10
Zambia 37 30 11 4 12 14 17 20 33 18 39 18 48 41 38 65 42 27 26 39 60 55 61 56 47 77 98 55 60
Zimbabwe 132 142 70 3 28 54 44 85 47 32 68 42 89 65 96 47 29 84 69 47 47 51 43 37 44 30 66 117 117

Deceptive agencies

There is no charge to enter the Diversity Visa lottery, and the only way to do so is by completing and sending the electronic form available at the U.S. Department of State website during the registration period. However, there are numerous companies and websites that charge a fee in order to complete the form for the applicant. The Department of State and the Federal Trade Commission have warned that some of these businesses falsely claim to increase someone's chances of winning the lottery, or that they are affiliated with the U.S. government.[66]

There have also been numerous cases of fraudulent emails and letters which falsely claim to have been sent by the Department of State and that the recipient has been granted a permanent resident card. These messages prompt the recipients to transfer a "visa processing fee" as a prerequisite for obtaining a "guaranteed" green card. The messages are sometimes sent to people who never participated in the lottery and can look trustworthy as they contain the recipient's exact name and contact details and what appears to be a legal notice.

The Department of State has issued a warning against the scammers. It notes that any email claiming the recipient to be a winner of the lottery is fake because the Department has never notified and will not notify winners by email. The Department has urged recipients of such messages to notify the Internet Crime Complaint Center about the scam.[67]

The office of inspector general has identified multiple problems with DV lottery in several countries, including Ukraine, Ghana, Albania in embassy inspection reports.[68][69][70]

According to testimony from Stephen A. Edson before the House Judiciary Committee, "in Bangladesh, for example, one agent is reported to have enrolled an entire phone book so that he could then either extort money from winning applicants who had never entered the program to begin with or sell their winning slots to others."[71]

Impact

Economic

Labor economists and others have credited the Diversity Visa program for providing economic benefits to the United States and enhancing the competitiveness of the U.S. labor force.[72][73][74]

Research by Lewis and several other economists shows that diverse and low-skilled immigrants lift the wages of native-born workers, as those immigrants are less substitutable to native-born workers.[72]

Charles Kenny, an economist at the Center for Global Development, noted that research by Harvard economist Alberto Alesina found that countries with a higher share of foreign-born populations tended to have more innovation and higher incomes.[75]

Security

In 2004, the State Department's deputy inspector general warned that there were security risks to granting visas to winners from countries with ties to terrorism.[76] A 2007 Government Accountability Office report however found no evidence that recipients of diversity visas posed a threat.[76]

According to PolitiFact, "there is at least one documented example of an individual who migrated through the diversity visa system and was later arrested on terrorism-related charges. But it is unclear that the diversity lottery has historically been used as a strategic entry point for terrorists."[77]

The uncle of Akayed Ullah, the man who set off a bomb on a New York City Subway platform in 2017, won a diversity lottery, which enabled him to bring his nephew to the United States under the family reunification provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.[78]

Experts on immigration note that the chances of winning the lottery are low and those who do win the lottery still have to undergo background checks and vetting, which makes the diversity lottery program a poor choice for immigrants considering launching terrorist attacks in the United States.[77]

According to the Cato Institute, immigrants from the countries with the highest percentage of diversity visas have vastly lower incarceration rates than native-born Americans.[79]

Further reading

Notes

  1. ^ Including Macau only for DV-2002, and Hong Kong only from DV-2022.
  2. ^ Excluding Northern Ireland. Including dependent territories except Hong Kong.
  3. ^ a b c d e The only eligible country in North America is The Bahamas. Canada is not eligible for the program.

References

  1. ^ "The Irish Roots of the Diversity Visa Lottery". Politico.com. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  2. ^ Alvarez, Priscilla (November 2017). "The Diversity Visa Program Was Created to Help Irish Immigrants". Theatlantic.com. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Green card lottery invented to help the Irish - under Trump, its luck may have run out". Independent.ie. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Seeking reform in an era of walls, bars and bans — Irish Echo". Irishecho.com. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  5. ^ "What's Happened?". Irishabroad.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  6. ^ a b DV Lottery Timeline, preceden.com; accessed November 5, 2017.
  7. ^ "Immigrants to get visas by lottery", The New York Times, March 1, 1989.
  8. ^ "For illegal Irish immigrants, a time to test that luck", The New York Times, March 17, 1989.
  9. ^ a b Linda Dowling Almeida Irish Immigrants in New York City, 1945–1995, Indiana University Press, 2001.
  10. ^ a b c "Was Diversity Visa program ..." @politifact. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
  11. ^ "9 FAM 502.6". U.S. Department of State. February 9, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e Diversity Visa Program Statistics, United States Department of State.
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