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U.S. Consul General Lisa Piascik
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Consul General Lisa Piascik held a press conference on September 22, 2005 to explain the provisions of US law that led to the ineligibility of Poland for the 2007 Diversity Visa Lottery program. She explained that it had nothing to do with US-Polish relations or other visa-related issues, such as the Visa Waiver Program, but was a condition of the Congressionally mandated Diversity Visa program which stipulates that no diversity visas shall be provided to “high admission” countries from which there were more than 50,000 immigrants during the previous five years.
Ms. Piascik noted that Poland joins Canada, China (mainland born), Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Korea (South), Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland), and Vietnam on the list of excluded countries for 2007. Poland was ineligible for the Diversity Visa program from 1998-2001 but was able to participate after that because the number of Polish immigrants dropped below the 50,000 threshold. It is therefore possible that Poland could be included in the DV Program again in future years.
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