VOA慢速英语2014 美国“绿卡”彩票登记开始了

 

AS IT IS 2014-10-01 US 'Green Card' Lottery¹ Registration² Begins 美国“绿卡”彩票登记开始了

The United States government’s Diversity Immigrant Visa Program opens October 1. The program is known to millions of people around the world as the “green card lottery.”

A “green card” is the unofficial name for a government document. It can be used to prove that a person is a U.S. legal immigrant. Green cards are also given to those offered asylum³ or protection as refugees. And a green card may be given to individuals with family members who are U.S. citizens. The document is not evidence of citizenship⁴. But it means the person can live and work in the United States. Once someone gets a green card, they can nominate their wives, husbands and children for green cards. A foreign citizen who has been offered a job in the United States can ask for a green card. In that case, the person’s employer would act as a “sponsor.”

The U.S. Congress approved the visa program in 1990 as a way to increase the number of immigrants to the country. The winners are chosen through a random⁵ computer drawing. A computer program chooses individuals without knowing who they are.

The program gives 50,000 green cards each year to citizens of countries that have low rates of immigration to the United States. This year, like last year, the visa lottery is not being offered to people from 19 countries. The reason? Each of those countries has sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the past five years. The 19 nations include Brazil, mainland China, Haiti, India, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan. The list also includes The Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam. The State Department says the United States already has many immigrants from these areas.

However, a person may seek a visa under the program if he or she was born in one of the 19 countries but neither parent was born or living legally in the country. An individual may also seek a visa if their husband or wife was born in a country whose citizens are permitted to apply.

A person must, in the State Department’s words, “meet simple, but strict eligibility⁶ requirements in order to qualify” for the program. For example, applicants⁷ must have completed at least 12 years of schooling⁸. Or they must have two years of work experience in the past five years in a job that requires at least two years of training or experience.

The State Department warns that people who win the lottery must still meet all requirements under U.S. law. It says those requirements may increase the level of investigation⁹ and the time needed to process a visa application, especially if winners are from “countries identified as state sponsors of terrorism.”   

It does not cost anything to enter the diversity visa lottery program. However, the winners must pay for their visa and related costs. Some people pay others to help with the application. However, the State Department does not approve of this. It says “you are strongly encouraged to complete the entry form yourself, without a ‘visa consultant,’ ‘visa agent’” or other person who offers to help.

A computer will choose more than 50,000 names by May of 2015. The winners then meet with State Department employees to answer questions. Next, the computer identifies 50,000 of those who have met with department officials. No country may receive more than seven percent of the visas given in a year. 

The possibilities of winning the lottery are not good. Millions of people apply to the program every year. Fifteen million people applied¹⁰ in 2010.

The winners are permitted to bring their spouse¹¹ and any unmarried children under the age of 21. But before being permitted to travel to the United States, they must prove that they have enough money to support themselves. Or they need to prove that someone already legally in the United States will support them. The U.S. government will not pay for lottery winners to travel to the United States, will not help them find housing or a job for them or provide health care. 

The program closes November 3rd. All applications must be sent electronically. Written requests are not accepted. Applicants must give a lot of information, including their date and place of birth. People who have won the lottery will not receive a letter, an email or a telephone call from the State Department. The names of the winners will be available on the department’s website between May 5, 2015 and June 30, 2016.

The State Department has written an 18-page document explaining the visa program. It has rules that people must follow, and a list of frequently-asked questions. And it lists the countries whose citizens may not apply for a diversity visa as well as the countries whose citizens may. We have placed a link to the document on our website, learningenglish.voanews.com 

1 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

2 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

3 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

4 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

5 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

6 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

7 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

8 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

11 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？