Stuart Patt, the press secretary of the US State Department, who spoke with the newspaper's correspondent, assures that the computer format was introduced not to limit participation, but only for the convenience of processing applications, and has fully justified itself: in particular, the decrease in the number of applications indicates not that there are fewer applicants, but that they have stopped sending two or three applications “just in case”.
However, the State Department does not take into account that many applicants in underdeveloped countries lack access to a scanner, a computer, and, most importantly, the Internet, which are necessary for submitting an application. And some people simply fear that their data will end up “in the computer” — especially those who are already illegally in the United States. Stuart Patt swears that the data is not being collected for deportation or for transfer “to outside parties.” However, when journalists “cornered him,” he admitted that he cannot deny that, under certain circumstances, personal data may be transferred to the Department of Homeland Security, created after September 11.
The lucky winners of the green card lottery each year are 110,000 people, mainly from third-world countries. However, about half of them, for one reason or another, fail to complete the necessary procedures within the required time and enter the United States.