U.S. Halts "Green Card Lottery" After Shooting Suspect Entry Revealed
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The United States has suspended its Diversity Visa Lottery program. This action follows the discovery that a suspect in recent shootings entered the country through the scheme.
The program, often called the "green card lottery," randomly selects 50,000 applicants annually for U.S. permanent residency. It is designed to diversify the immigrant population.
Authorities say the suspect in a university shooting and the killing of an MIT professor was a lottery beneficiary. The Department of State has now paused the program indefinitely.
Officials state the suspension allows for a full security review. They emphasized the need to ensure immigration programs do not compromise public safety.
The future of the popular visa lottery remains uncertain pending the review's outcome.