Africans could be the big losers as the United States reforms its immigration laws and eliminates the green card lottery, of which Africans are the main beneficiaries.
Half of the 50,000 residence permits handed out at random each year are earmarked for Africans. It is a hugely popular program that has allowed hundreds of thousands of Africans to settle in America since the mid 1990s.
But the ambitious reform project under debate now in Washington, which would provide papers for million undocumented immigrants, contains a clause that would do away with the lottery.
In its place would be a more selective immigration system based on skills, career and family ties.
For years the lottery has been in the crosshairs of Republicans, who control the House of Representatives and say it adds no value to the American economy.
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