The United States government has suspended the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery, popularly known in Ghana as the “green card lottery,” following a deadly mass shooting at Brown University that claimed two lives.
The decision was announced by US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who said the suspension was ordered by President Donald Trump to review the programme and prevent further threats to public safety.
The suspect in the Brown University shooting, 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente, a Portuguese national, entered the United States through the Diversity Visa Lottery in 2017 and later obtained permanent resident status.
He was found dead days later in New Hampshire in what authorities believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, following a multi-state manhunt.
US officials also believe the suspect was responsible for the killing of an MIT professor, Nuno Gomes Loureiro, earlier in the same week. Investigators linked the two attacks using CCTV footage, vehicle tracking, and public tips. No motive has yet been established.
The Diversity Visa Lottery allows up to 50,000 people each year from countries with historically low migration rates to the US to gain permanent residency through a random selection process.
Ghana is among the countries whose citizens have benefited significantly from the programme over the years, with thousands of Ghanaians applying annually and many successfully relocating to the US through the scheme.
The suspension has therefore sparked concern among many Ghanaians, particularly young people and families who view the lottery as one of the few accessible legal pathways to live and work in the United States.
President Trump previously attempted to end the programme during his first term, citing security concerns, especially after earlier violent incidents involving beneficiaries of the scheme.
While US authorities say the suspension is temporary, no timeline has been given for when — or if — the Diversity Visa Lottery will resume, leaving applicants in Ghana and other countries uncertain about the future of the programme.