Nearly 4,000 Kenyan DV Selectees Caught in Limbo Over US Immigration Bill
Thousands of Kenyan applicants hoping to secure permanent residence in the United States face fresh uncertainty following a legislative attempt by a US lawmaker to abolish the Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme.
Texas Representative Keith Self introduced a bill in Congress seeking to terminate the annual lottery, which offers up to 55,000 green cards to individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the US.
Self defended the proposal by pointing to alleged fraud and security gaps in the current system.
“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,” Self said.
According to legislative documents, the bill proposes to amend the US Immigration and Nationality Act by striking out the section that establishes the diversity visa framework.
The measure has been referred to the US House Committee on the Judiciary for review. It may also be directed to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, which oversees immigration matters.
To become law, the bill must pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate before it goes to the US President for approval.
The proposal comes at a sensitive time for the scheme, which has already encountered administrative delays. The US State Department previously paused the issuance of all Diversity Visas to review screening and vetting procedures.
That pause left many applicants in limbo ahead of the September 30 deadline for the DV-2026 cycle, despite an August federal court ruling that temporarily blocked several Trump administration policies affecting visa processing.
The DV lottery remains a major route for East Africans seeking a move to the US. Data from the State Department shows that 3,949 prospective applicants from Kenya, including principal entrants, spouses and children, were selected for the 2026 programme.
Across the globe, the department registered roughly 129,516 selectees out of more than 20.8 million qualified entries. Other East African nations with successful selectees include Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and Somalia.
To participate, individuals must submit an online entry during the designated registration window and meet minimum education or work experience criteria. Selected entrants undergo background checks, document verification and a consular interview.
Selection in the lottery does not guarantee a visa, as available slots are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to qualified candidates until the annual cap is reached. Selection results for the 2025 Diversity Visa cycle became available on May 4, 2024.
