U.S. visa lottery called a threat

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The State Department's deputy inspector general said yesterday that despite new fraud protections, the diversity visa-lottery program, which issues 55,000 green cards to foreign nationals annually, is a prime opportunity for criminals and enemies of the United States to enter the nation.

"The bottom line is it's a program that can be taken advantage of by hostile intelligence officers or terrorists," said Anne W. Patterson, deputy inspector general for the State Department, before the immigration subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee.

The lottery's goal is to broaden the nation's pool of immigrants. Millions of people apply each year, from which about 110,000 names were selected in the 2004 lottery.

Those selected then must apply and go through the visa process. In the end, 50,000 green cards are issued by a general formula and 5,000 are issued for those who qualify through the Nicaragua Adjustment and Central American Relief Act.

With legal immigration topping 1 million people per year, the program accounts for a small fraction. But in the wake of the September 11 attacks, it has been criticized widely as a good way for terrorists to win entry to the United States and, once here, operate with few restrictions.

"This program remains a serious security threat," said Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte, Virginia Republican, who is sponsoring a bill to end the diversity lottery.

Nationals from some countries -- those that already have high rates of immigration to the United States -- are barred from taking part in the lottery, including Canada, Mexico, Haiti, Great Britain, Russia, mainland China, India, Pakistan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Yet those from nations on the State Department's list of states that sponsor terrorism, who generally are barred from applying for temporary visas, still are allowed to apply for the permanent visas through the lottery. In the 2004 lottery, 1,183 persons were registered from Sudan, 1,431 from Iran and 64 from Syria.

Also, fraud is widespread, with people filing multiple applications under different names to increase their chances of being selected. If they are selected under one of the false names, they then obtain fraudulent documents to back up their application.

Ms. Patterson said in 2002, 85 percent of winners from Bangladesh were rejected, indicating both a high level of fraud but a heightened awareness at that particular post.