An American Green Card is a highly coveted status internationally. A Green Card is physical proof of the right to live and work in the United States and allows immigrants to re-enter America.
Green Cards are also very exclusive. While many thousands may be granted to immigrants in a year, there are many more millions of people who wish to get their hands on the documents, who simply cannot.
The reason for this is manifold, but primarily it is because there are not enough Green Cards to go around and getting one can be very difficult.
Because of the difficulty in obtaining a Green Card, there is a great deal of fraud involving U.S. immigration.
Most attempts at fraud are foiled by the several agencies that work to enforce immigration law in the United States.
Some people attempt to defraud the Green Card Lottery (one of the most popular immigration programs in the United States) and this has led to some legislators calling for the end of the popular program.
However, there are several systems in place for catching potentially false claims at permanent residency.
- Multiple entries to a given Green Card Lottery are automatically disqualified
- A very intensive screening process takes place after the drawing for the Green Card Lottery. Any winners of the program must undergo a very thorough examination of their qualifications for a Green Card
- Biometric measurements (such as fingerprints and photography) are used to further identify applicants and prevent others from taking their place
- Examinations, which take place at border crossings and ports-of-entry, are designed to catch and prevent fraudsters from claiming Green Cards in the U.S.
For those few cases which fall through the cracks and do grant permanent residency to fraudulent applicants, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) exists to examine potential cases of illegal entry into the U.S.
The same legislation that aims to cancel the Green Card Lottery also intends to increase funding to immigration enforcement agencies such as ICE.
Immigrants who are looking to enter the United States within the rules and guidelines set out by the USCIS are encouraged to apply for the Green Card Lotto this year as this may be the last year for the program.
Green Card Lottery 