Thousands of green card lottery winners from around the world have filed a lawsuit against the administration of US President Joe Biden for fear of losing the chance to move to the United States. They have learned that their visa applications will not be prioritized due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Euronews writes about it.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Curtis Morrison, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said the complaint was filed on behalf of more than 24,000 people from 141 countries.

“I am pleased to announce that we have filed a complaint against our 24,089 claimants with the District Court for the District of Columbia,” he wrote.

The lawsuit is fueled by fears of thousands of winners that they may lose what may be their only chance to build a life in America. The reason for this was the refusal of the United States to process their visa applications with a limited duration.

“I applied for the program after my summer job trip. I like the United States and I wanted to spend the rest of my life there, ”said the lottery winner from Turkey, who is also one of the plaintiffs.
“I won, but now it doesn't look like it’s a victory,” said the girl, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she fears it might affect her visa application.

“It was a lottery, but we have to sue to actually become the winners,” the plaintiffs said. - We are still in our homes and we haven't had a single interview yet. It feels like our American dream is fading away. "

Every year, the United States issues up to 55,000 green cards to immigrants from different countries through a lottery in an effort to promote diversity in the United States.

The visa obtained as a result of winning has a strict time limit, and if you miss the deadline for obtaining approval, you may completely lose the opportunity to move to the United States under this program.

Thousands of 2020 visa holders, who have been informed that their chances of entering the US have expired, are still fighting the US government in court to get the country to reverse its decision.

And now, although they were told that they won the lottery (DV-2020) in 2021, more than 24,000 winners fear losing the chance to move to the United States.

Plaintiffs allege that they were blocked from applying for a visa due to the fact that US consulates around the world refused to conduct interviews, despite the tight schedule of the program.

They say the recent decision by the Department of State to make the processing of winners' applications a low priority will make it impossible to obtain timely visas.
“The Department values ​​the lottery and is working hard to process as many visa applications as possible in line with other priorities, despite severe operational constraints and backlogs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the State Department said in a statement.

"The number of visas issued in lower priority categories or in programs such as the lottery will most likely not come close to the statutory ceiling in fiscal 2021," the document states.

According to the current leadership of the State Department, visas have become a "fourth level" priority, while the department acknowledged that "many embassies and consulates are already struggling with a significant gap in all categories of immigrant visas."

The lawsuit argues that the US should give preference to lottery winners as much as any other visa applicant.

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