Trump Administration Moves to Suspend Diversity Immigrant Visa Program Over Security Concerns

The Trump administration has moved to suspend the Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme, also known as the Green Card Lottery, following concerns over national security.

In a statement on X, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had been instructed to halt the programme “at President Trump’s direction.” Noem cited a recent case involving Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a Brown University shooter who entered the US via the lottery in 2017, as a reason for the pause. 

She argued that such individuals should not be allowed into the country. The Diversity Visa Programme, which has been in operation since 1990, allocates up to 50,000 visas annually to applicants from countries with historically low immigration rates to the US. 

The lottery system is designed to promote greater diversity within the US immigrant population. However, the programme has long been controversial, with critics highlighting security risks associated with its randomised selection process.

In 2017, after a terrorist attack in New York City carried out by a lottery entrant, President Trump called for the programme’s abolition. This latest move by the administration marks a renewed effort to reshape US immigration policy.

For the 2026 cycle, approximately 52,000 visas will be available, with no country permitted to receive more than 7% of the total. The suspension of the programme has not yet been confirmed by USCIS, and it remains unclear whether the pause will become permanent.

In addition to the suspension, the State Department has recently proposed stricter entry requirements, including the submission of a valid, unexpired passport and scanned images of its photo and signature pages. These new rules aim to reduce fraud and improve the integrity of the application process.