The Diversity Visa Lottery: Irish Origins, Security Risks, and Recent Suspension

The U.S. Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, commonly known as the green card lottery, allocates up to 55,000 visas annually to nationals of countries with low historical immigration rates to the United States. Established under the Immigration Act of 1990, its roots trace to concerns following the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act amendments, which shifted inflows away from Europe toward Asia and Latin America. Irish-American lawmakers, including Sen. Edward Kennedy, supported precursor programs in the 1980s and the final lottery framework partly to assist Irish immigrants, including those without strong family or employment ties. Early iterations included set-asides favoring Irish applicants, with over 90% of transitional visas going to Europeans in some years.

Critics have long highlighted risks, noting that participants undergo limited vetting compared to other categories. The program drew renewed scrutiny after the October 2017 New York City truck attack, in which Uzbek national Sayfullo Saipov—admitted via the Diversity Visa in 2010—killed eight people and injured others. Saipov was later convicted on terrorism charges and sentenced to multiple life terms. More recently, in December 2025, Portuguese national Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente, who entered on a Diversity Visa in 2017 and received a green card, was identified as the suspect in the Brown University shooting that killed two students and wounded nine others; he was also linked to an MIT professor's murder before dying by suicide. In response, the Trump administration directed a pause on processing and issuance of new Diversity Visas, citing national security concerns.

The policy has evolved from its European-focused origins to primarily benefit applicants from Africa and other regions. While defenders argue it promotes geographic diversity and that incidents are rare relative to the program's scale, documented cases of terrorism and violence involving visa holders have fueled bipartisan calls for reform or elimination over the years.