3 Million Win a Chance to Enter U.S. ‘Visa Lottery’

More than 3 million people from around the world have won a chance to take part in a computerized “visa lottery” in which 20,000 of them will win the opportunity to live in the United States, the State Department announced Tuesday.

Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the winners will be selected at random by computer.

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), author of legislation that made the program possible, “will open the first few application envelopes selected by the computer and announce the nationalities of the (chosen) applicants” in a ceremony Monday, Boucher said.

Berman has sponsored the program as a way of diversifying the nation’s immigrant population.

Citizens of 162 countries were eligible to apply for visas during March; all applicants have an equal chance of winning.

Winners who come to the United States may apply for citizenship later if they meet the criteria for that status, said Frances Jones, an official with the department’s consular affairs office.

Under the program, 10,000 visas will be granted for 1991, and another 10,000 for 1992.

Under the usual rules, an applicant must have a close relative in the United States or possess certain professional skills to qualify for an immigrant visa.

Since the lottery arrangement was announced in February, U.S. embassies and diplomats overseas have been besieged with inquiries.

Telephones rang constantly and embassy entryways from Cairo to Bucharest were crowded with people seeking visa information.

Being selected in the lottery will not guarantee permission to enter the United States, however. Winners still must meet the basic requirements, such as being in good health and free of criminal associations.

The last drawing, in 1986, allowed visas for 10,000 of about 1.4 million applicants.