I wrote earlier about the Goodlatte/Herseth amendment to do away with the Diversity visa lottery. I asked you to see how your representatives voted.
Well, this is one of the things I Love about the US: people take initiative to contact their Senator! That's probably because, contrary to what I see in The Netherlands, people in the US feel connected to their representatives. They also hold their politicians a lot more accountable. Hey! We elected you into office! This is what you should do.
Here's an e-mail I recieved a few days ago......
Hi, I found your blog through Google!I can't believe that the amendment to eliminate the
Diversity Visa passed in the House. BUT there is still
hope as it will be voted on by the Senate in the
coming weeks. Cross your fingers!I wrote to my Senators to support the Diversity Visa.
I also wrote to Rep. Herseth who wrote the amendment.You should write to a few Senators! I'm sure they
would love to hear the story of a normal, intelligent
person who applies for the visa year after year. And
how badly the visa is needed!
That's great!! I'll follow this reader's advise and write a few Senators myself. And maybe that way I can inspire YOU to do the same....
Why would you do that? Well, because just love Sweety and me :) But there are other (better) reasons to. Here's what the same reader had to say about that.
The reason why I'm a huge supporter of the Diversity Visa is because it is the only real fair opportunity to obtain a green card for those who are not fortunate enough to have family members invite them, or have a specialized occupation. I think it is a true "equal opportunity," and a very generous immigration policy that I am proud of.I think people who oppose it are racist/classist.
Racist because they don't want any more immigrants
into the country than are absolutely necessary;
classist because they don't want immigrants who don't
come from money or high education.I do not agree that the process is completely random.
"Winners" still have to prove their citizenship,
provide documents of education/training, clean
criminal background (right?), and pass the US Consular
interview. Winners are guarenteed nothing but the
OPPORTUNITY of being issued a visa.The simple fact that 100,000 winner letters are issued
to fill 50,000 visas proves that only half of the
winners are expected to fulfill all the
qualifications, pass the interview, and actually be
issued a visa.Anyways, I'll get off my soapbox... and I'm crossing
my fingers that the very unpopular HR 4437 (or 4337)
doesn't pass.
There you have it! Do you need more reasons to write your Senator? Hurry up, sent them a letter or e-mail today!
