MarylandNed

You don't understand the criteria used and I think you're the one who is ignoring the numbers!

They looked at countries that had sent less than 50,000 immigrants to the US in the previous 5 years.

Was Italy "part of the diverse nature it was intended for"? Was Russia? Was Poland? They are all included despite having a long history of sending immigrants to the US. Same for other countries.

As I said, Ireland combined (North and South) got 183 visas out of 50,000 in the 2013 lottery. That's 0.00396%. It's far from being an "Irish Program" if more than 99.99% were not Irish! That's hardly "shitting with the numbers".

The numbers are right here:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigra...ypes_5715.html

Sorry that you don't like them. Maybe take it up with the State Dept.

Bob

And pint pourer

Bob

Whoop-de-shitting do. So you look at the number for the last year and the last few years.

Doesn't change the historic nature of why it was kept around and why Ireland and Northern Ireland were allowed to participate in it for all these years.

They didn't get the boot from the lottery, despite there being many Irish immigrants to the US solely based on politics thanks to people like the Kennedy's keeping it around and them eligible to partake so that they could pander to their Irish voter base in the US.

MarylandNed

I'm not sure what you don't understand about the criteria for selecting countries - i.e. less than 50,000 immigrants in the previous 5 years. Is that hard to understand? If you want to go back further to dig up higher numbers then be consistent and do the same thing for other nationalities like the Italians, Russians, Poles, Germans etc. (all of whom are also eligible for the DV lottery). Or have you got something against the Irish in particular?

Again, I don't think the Irish are going to be weeping at the loss of 183 visas out of 50,000 awarded. If anything, you're more upset than they will be!

MarylandNed

Wow Ireland and Northern Ireland really have been monopolizing the DV lottery visas haven't they?

http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY12...t-TableVII.pdf

markwm

Can't find any reference to "The Irish Program". Can some references be provided?

MarylandNed

Maybe it's actually called "Not the Irish Program" since more than 99.99% of the winners are NOT Irish!

Sally Redux

It's more a question of why Ireland/Northern Ireland are eligible when the rest of the UK isn't.

Ray

This lottery began as in the name of diversity, for a way to bring more white people to America. The earlier immigration laws, from the late1880's, favored Northern Europeans. In 1965, at the height of the civil rights struggle, Congress changed the laws to favor relatives of American citizens or permanent residents, whoever liked, and Asians, Africans, and Latin Americans came in record numbers, while European immigration lowered. This alarmed many members of Congress, who argued for legislation to change and get Irish, Germans, Italians, Poles, and others without immediate family members in the United States. As a result, in the 1990's, were a series of short lived diversity-visa programs to bring more European immigrants, especially English speakers from there, to the United States. 1992 to 1994, 40% of diversity visas were set from one country that is Ireland. Irish exception was expired, and in 1995, Congress decided the lottery must cover all worlds other than the countries that have much number in the immigrant pool

markwm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...on_legislation

Zen10

Yes, madness, I agree.

Zen10

People are suggesting it's because of the importance of the Irish vote in American politics. I don't follow this closely, but I do know that this is the reason the disgraceful funding of guns, ammunition and cash to the IRA channelled out of Boston was tolerated for so long. British PMs begged US presidents to put a stop to it, but they had no luck. It started winding down after 1998 when the agreement reduced the need, and after 2001 when the US decided British support in the WOT was more important. Also, I'm guessing many Americans finally worked out what it was like to have terrorists blow up your cities.

Sally Redux

One couldn't help remembering Boston's role during the recent tragic events there.

Bob

If you didn't understand what was said, then there's very little point because yet again, this is another thing that you completely failed to understand.

It's not like it's a complicated thing to grasp.

The actual numbers mean shit all. They are irrelevant.

How much simpler do you need it to be spelled out?

The sole reasons Ireland haven't been dumped from this years ago and the only reason they haven't ditched the whole program is politics. No one wanted to offend and put off the Irish ancestry voter base.

That's it. Not a very hard concept to grasp. No one gives a shit about 50K visa's. It's a drop in the ocean, a rounding error and just a bit of good will.

Zen10

I thought that, but I didn't comment on it at the time as it felt inappropriate.