A United States lawmaker has introduced a bill seeking to abolish the Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme, which provides a pathway to permanent residency for people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the country.
Texas Representative Keith Self called for the programme to be scrapped, citing alleged fraud and weaknesses in its identity verification measures.
“I just introduced a bill to terminate the Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery, a programme that gives 55,000 green cards a year to foreigners from third-world countries and is riddled with fraud and weak identity checks,” he said.
According to the legislative documents obtained by Kenyans.co.ke, the proposal seeks to amend the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act by removing the provision governing the diversity visa programme.
U.S. House Representative for Texas, Keith Self, speaks at a past event, September 22, 2026.
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Congressman Keith Self
The bill has been referred to the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary for review and could subsequently be assigned to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, which handles immigration-related legislation.
If it advances, it would need to be approved by the full House of Representatives and the Senate before being sent to the President for approval.
“A Bill to terminate the diversity immigrant visa programme. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,” the document stated.
There are ongoing legal and policy disputes over the programme, following a federal court ruling in August that temporarily blocked several Trump administration policies affecting visa processing and issuance.
However, the U.S. State Department had temporarily paused the issuance of all Diversity Visas to review its screening and vetting procedures, which left applicants in uncertainty ahead of the September 30 deadline for the DV-2026 programme.
The proposal comes as the programme continues to attract thousands of applicants from Kenya seeking opportunities to live and work permanently in the U.S.
Data from the Department shows that 3,949 prospective applicants from Kenya, including selected entrants and their spouses and children, were registered as selectees for the 2026 Diversity Visa Lottery.
In total, the Department registered approximately 129,516 prospective applicants selected from 20,822,624 qualified entries, with selectees from other East African countries, including Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and Somalia, as well as countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean and South America.
Applicants must submit an online entry during the designated registration period, meet the education or work experience requirements, and, if selected, complete the visa application process, including document submission, background checks and an interview.
Although the lottery allows eligible applicants to be randomly selected for consideration, selection does not guarantee a visa.
The 2025 Diversity Visa selections will open its portal on May 4, 2024.
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Economic Times