Kenyans who wish to reside in the United States (US) might have their dreams shattered after two senators allied to President Donald Trump introduced a Bill seeking to end the Green Card Lottery.
A green card is a permit that has allowed foreigners to live and permanently work in the US for the last 27 years.
Since its inception in 1990, 50,000 of the estimated 100,000 Kenyans currently living in America are believed to have entered the country through the lottery.
However, this could now change after Senators David Perdue and Thomas Cotton proposed a reduction of immigrants allowed to the US through the lottery on grounds that it was “outdated”.
Senator Cotton also stated that the proposed law would reduce the number of immigrants from developing countries.
This means that the total lawful immigration to the US estimated to be one million would reduce to 500,000 persons per year.
The Bill also seeks to limit the types of family members that US citizens and permanent residents can sponsor for admission to the country.
Under the new legislation introduced by the senators, only spouses and unmarried children of US citizens and permanent residents would be potentially eligible for green cards.
The current green card covers spouses, married and unmarried children, parents and siblings of the green card holders.
The two senators said they consulted Trump before drafting the proposal which is likely to face Opposition from Democrats and a section of Republicans.
The controversial proposal will have to be approved by Congress and President Trump to become law.
