VOA常速英语:US Green Card Lottery Under Threat

WASHINGTON — The popular Green Card Lottery program could be eliminated if the U.S. Congress passes the current version of the bipartisan immigration reform plan. The lottery was set up as a way to give anyone a chance at the "American dream." But the new plan will focus instead on adding more highly-educated workers in science, technology, engineering and math.
如果美国国会通过目前两党支持的移民改革议案，受欢迎的绿卡彩票项目将被取消。当初建立绿卡彩票项目是为了要给每个人一个实现“美国梦”的机会，而新的移民改革议案则关注为科技、工程和数学类的受教育程度高的人员提供更多机会。

Two years ago Rafiq-ul-Islam won a U.S. permanent resident visa through the Green Card Lottery and came to the United States from Bangladesh -- with little more than the clothing he owned and a dream of a better life in America.
伊斯兰姆两年前通过绿卡彩票项目赢得美国永久居留权后从孟加拉来到美国，来美国时他的全部财产不过就是随身带的几件衣物，但他一直怀有一个“美国梦”。

“I apply for [and] came [to] America. I want to change my luck. If I can change my luck I can support my family, everything, all will be changed, everything like, that’s why I applied,” he said.
“我当时申请来美国，我想改变我的运气。如果我改变了运气，我可以供养我的家庭，所有一切都会改变。这就是我为什么申请绿卡彩票。”

The late Senator Edward Kennedy came up with the idea for a visa lottery system in the 1990s -- as a way to give opportunity to European and other countries with low immigration quotas. The lottery program -- officially known as the diversity visa -- is relatively small, granting about 50,000 visas compared to the more than one million new green cards issued each year.
已故参议员爱德华.肯尼迪在90年代提议创立绿卡彩票系统，为的是给欧洲和其他一些国家的人一个移民美国的机会。绿卡彩票的正式名称为多元化签证，相对于美国每年发放的一百多万张绿卡来说，彩票绿卡的数量并不算多，每年发放5万个绿卡。

The lucky winners like ul-Islam must pass a background check, but need only a high school degree or work experience to qualify.  Immigration attorney Rajiv Khanna says the diversity visa has come to symbolize core American values.
像伊斯兰姆这样的幸运儿必须通过背景调查，但他们只需要拥有高中学历或者工作经验即可。移民律师坎那说，多元化签证代表了美国的核心价值。

“But United States is blessed and perhaps cursed with that unique vision we have, that we are as a nation, a citizen of the world community.  And we have to accommodate certain things in good conscience and good faith rather than as a matter of self-interest,” Khanna said.
他说：“美国作为一个国家，作为国际社会的一员，有着自己独特的理念，不管这种理念是一种福佑还是诅咒。我们必须用良好的意愿和信念来容纳一些事情，而不只是考虑自身的利益。”

But under the proposed immigration reform plan being considered by the U.S. Congress, the diversity visa faces elimination.  Instead, the plan would expand opportunities for professionals like Bhushan Parekh who hold advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.  Parekh’s H-1B professional visa was sponsored by a major U.S. company.
但是美国国会正在商讨的移民改革议案提议取消多元化签证，将节省下来的绿卡名额提供给像帕瑞克这样拥有科技、工程和数学方面高学位的职业人。帕瑞克的H-1B工作签证由他所在的一家美国大公司帮助申请。

“Because I had done the engineering in India, the 4-year degree, and I’d also worked in India for a year after.  During the interview process it was very apparent to them that I had the management skills they were looking for,” Parekh said.
“因为我在印度拥有一个4年制的工程学位，之后还在印度工作过一年。在面试中，他们显然认为我拥有他们所需要的管理技能。”

Some members of Congress oppose eliminating the diversity visa -- saying the U.S. should give some opportunity to the world's poor and disadvantaged.  But, in these hard economic times, Khanna says fairness is no longer the priority.
一些国会议员反对取消多元化签证，他们认为美国应该给予世界上的弱势群体一些公平的机会。但是，如今的经济不景气，坎那说，公平已经不再是优先考虑的因素。

“So diversity by itself is no longer the virtue that we seek in our current immigration system as proposed.  What we seek instead is, ‘What can you do for us?,’” Khanna said.
坎那说：“在我们提议的移民改革中，多元化已经不再是我们的核心目标，我们需要考核的是‘你能为我们做什么？’”

Khanna says while U.S. businesses are lobbying for more professional visas, the poor from developing countries have no such powerful sponsors.
坎那说，美国大企业正在积极游说增加更多工作签证名额，而发展中国家的穷人阶级则没有这么强大的说客为他们说话。