US Bars Nigeria From 2022 Visa Lottery

Nigerians have been barred from participating in the United States’ visa lottery in 2022.
This was contained in a document obtained from the US ’ website, yesterday.
The 19-page document titled ‘Instructions for the 2022 diversity immigrant visa programme ( dv- 2022)’ stated that, “In Africa, natives of Nigeria are not eligible for this year’s Diversity Visa program”.
Some others barred from the visa lottery are natives from Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR ), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti.
Other natives barred are from Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan,
Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland ) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.
The document explained that Nigeria was barred because more than 50,000 of its citizens immigrated to the United States in the previous five years.
“For DV-2022, persons born in the following countries are not eligible to apply, because more than 50,000 natives of these countries immigrated to the United States in the previous five years : Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR ), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland ) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.
“Persons born in Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible”, the document stated.
However, natives from other African countries, according to the document, are eligible to apply, making Nigeria the only African country barred from participating in the lottery in 2022.
The document said further that “persons born in the areas administered prior to June 1967 by Israel, Jordan, Syria and Egypt are chargeable, respectively, to Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt.
“Persons born in the Gaza Strip are chargeable to Egypt; persons born in the West Bank are chargeable to Jordan ; persons born in the Golan Heights are chargeable to Syria”.
The United States urged applicants who are selected in the programme (selectees) to meet simple but strict eligibility requirements to qualify for a diversity visa.
It disclosed that, “The Department of State determines selectees through a randomised computer drawing.
The Department of State distributes diversity visas among six geographic regions, and no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available DVs in any one year”.