The green card lottery program that permitted the suspect in the killings at Brown University and MIT to enter the country was suspended by President Donald Trump .
In a post on the social media platform X, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that she is directing US Citizenship and Immigration Services to halt the program at Trump’s request.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” she said.
Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, is suspected of being involved in the shootings at Brown University that killed two students and injured nine more, as well as the murder of an MIT professor. According to authorities, he was discovered dead on Thursday night from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Donald Trump suspends Green Card Lottery: How will this impact Indians?
Donald Trump has suspended the green card lottery programme, also called the Diversity Visa Programme. This programme gives up to 50,000 green cards every year to people from countries that send very few immigrants to the United States. Many of these countries are in Africa.
The programme does not allow countries that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the US in the past five years. Because of this rule, people from India, China, Mexico, and the Philippines are usually not allowed to apply.
India sends a large number of immigrants to the US every year. In 2021, about 93,450 Indians moved to the US. This number increased to 127,010 in 2022. In 2023, another 78,070 Indians migrated to the US. Because of these high numbers, India will remain ineligible for the green card lottery until at least 2028.
For the 2025 diversity visa lottery, nearly 20 million people applied worldwide. About 131,000 people were selected, including family members. However, being selected does not guarantee entry. Winners still have to pass strict background checks.
Less options for Indians
Since Indians cannot use the diversity visa route, their options for permanent residency in the US are limited. Most Indians depend on other paths, such as changing an H-1B work visa into a green card, investing in the US, seeking asylum, or getting sponsorship from family members.
However, stricter immigration policies under Trump have made these routes more difficult. This has created uncertainty for Indians who want to migrate to the US and for companies that want to hire them.
