Cameroon

Cameroonians Anxiously Await Results of US Diversity Visa Lottery, Number of Applications Doubles

As economic challenges continue to plague Cameroonians, many have come to see the U.S. Diversity Immigrant Visa Program as a way to escape poverty at home.

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Cameroonians Anxiously Await Results of US Diversity Visa Lottery, Number of Applications Doubles

Nyanyoh Kinsam, 35, plays the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program lottery in hopes of living the American dream.

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BAMENDA, CAMEROON – Every five minutes, people walk in and out of Global Biz Online, an online commerce firm in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s Northwest region.

The manager, Abubakar Siddiq, takes each person to the balcony where a piece of white cloth hangs from the wall, acting as a backdrop for passport-sized photographs.

Then, he takes them one by one to his computer, where he fills in an online form for them. Without wasting time, he prints a letter that holds a valuable piece of data – a confirmation number that the customers will use to check their status in May 2014.

Siddiq has just helped his clients to play the 2015 lottery for a chance to move to the U.S. through its Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Global Biz Online, like dozens of other play centers here, is a one-stop shop for Cameroonians who play the lottery for the chance to live the American dream.

From Oct. 1 to Nov. 2, the rush to apply was on. During the first week of October 2013, Siddiq processed dozens of online applications.

“I have already had more than 60 persons who have come in here to apply for the lottery,” he says.

But during the last week of October, people came in droves to meet the lottery deadline.

“Cameroonians like last-minute stuff,” he says.

During the last three years, just one person who played the lottery in Siddiq’s office has come back to say they won the lottery, he says. He hopes that those who play in his shop and win come back to tell him because it gives him joy.

There are approximately 100 locations where people can apply in Bamenda, Siddiq says. Though people can also apply online themselves for free, the fear of submitting incomplete or incorrect information drives Cameroonians to pay for the application service. Applicants pay between 500 Central African francs ($1) and 2,000 francs ($4) in a play center for staff to process their applications online.

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program lottery is booming in Cameroon, particularly among young people. Many say that living conditions in Cameroon are not favorable because of economic hardship, unemployment and low-paying jobs, so they want to move to the U.S. to live a better life.

The number of applicants from Cameroon has nearly doubled in recent years. Those who work with youth say an increase in computer literacy and the use of the Internet and social media has led to a rise in awareness about the lottery and, therefore, applications.

Consequently, processing lottery applications is a big business here. Play centers advertise their services on television and radio and hang street banners to lure local lottery players. Many Cameroonians say they will continue to play the lottery for as long as Cameroon remains eligible, though others refuse, saying that U.S. culture is too stressful and liberal to want to live there.

The number of Cameroonians applying for the lottery has increased by nearly 97 percent in recent years. Whereas 114,000 Cameroonians applied to the 2007 lottery, more than 224,500 applied to the 2013 lottery.

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, which began in 1994, makes 50,000 permanent resident visas available annually to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of State. A country becomes ineligible once more than 50,000 of its natives have immigrated to the U.S. during the five years before the lottery application. At least 20 countries, such as India, Mexico and Nigeria, were ineligible to apply in 2013 for the 2015 lottery.

Applicants must meet simple but strict eligibility requirements to be selected in the lottery, according to the U.S. Department of State. A randomized computer drawing chooses selectees.

For the 2012 lottery, the most recent year for which complete data is available, the U.S. Department of State’s online application system received 143,400 single and 60,506 family applications from Cameroon. But less than 0.5 percent of Cameroonians who applied to the 2012 lottery advanced to the next phase, an in-person interview.

During the interview, applicants must provide proof of having a high school education or its equivalent or at least two years of work experience in a field that requires professional training within the previous five years. Of those deemed eligible, only the first 50,000 selectees worldwide obtain a diversity visa.

The Diversity Visa lottery is particularly popular with young people, Siddiq says.

“Cameroonians between the ages of 18 and 35 make up the greater proportion of those playing the DV lottery,” he says. “This has been my observation for the past three years that I have been facilitating the application process.”

Cameroonians cite economic and educational advancement among their reasons for applying.

Nyanyoh Kinsam, 35, has been playing the lottery for the past nine years without success. She applies through a play center.

Kinsam, a government worker, says life in the U.S. is worth living. Her salary as a government worker in Cameroon is small compared with what she believes she would earn if she moved to the U.S. Although she declined to publish her current salary, she is certain pay in the U.S. is good because she has seen Cameroonians return from there and build big houses, open new businesses, drive expensive cars and throw money around.

“I have seen many people who have played, won and left for the U.S.,” Kinsam says. “I want to be amongst that lot of Cameroonians whose American dream was made possible through the DV lottery.”

If people were given the opportunity to submit multiple applications, she would have the highest number of applications, she says. This year, she believes it is going to be her turn.

For Precious Meshi and her family, their turn has come.

Meshi won the 2013 lottery with her husband and two children after her spouse applied in 2011. They found out they won in 2012 and left Cameroon for New York in October 2013. The lottery runs two years in advance to allow time for the program to process winners and for winners to go through the steps to obtain their visas.

“Winning the American DV lottery has pushed me closer to my dream,” Meshi says.

She plans to study to earn a post-doctoral degree in the U.S. because it will command more respect and take less time than attaining a degree in Cameroon, she says.

But unlike many who win the lottery, Meshi does not plan to stay in the U.S. forever, she says. Once she earns her degree, she is intent on returning to Cameroon and giving her knowledge back to her community.

While economic and educational advancement motivate people to play the lottery, a rise in Internet and social media use has fueled the boom in applications, local observers say.

Melvin Songwe Shuye is the founder and president of United Youths Organisation, a nongovernmental organization based in Bamenda that encourages young people to discover their hidden talents so that they can achieve financial independence and can contribute to a better Cameroon. But many young people with whom he has been working have told him that better life lies outside of Cameroon, so they play the Diversity Visa lottery.

As the Internet becomes more popular and computer literacy increases among young people, many are more aware of the existence of the lottery, he says. Social media also puts young people in touch with Cameroonians who are in the U.S. thanks to the lottery, and seeing their pictures makes many want to live the same American dream.

“In as much as economic hardship is pushing Cameroonians abroad, the American lottery gains popularity as social media awareness increases,” he says. “Cameroonians meet friends online who directly or indirectly encourage them to play the lottery.”

But even though the number of applicants has nearly doubled, not all Cameroonians are eager to apply.

Paulette Tetum, a seamstress working in Bamenda, says there is no reason to play the lottery for the chance to move to the U.S.

“Life in the U.S., as I hear from friends who are living there, is very stressful,” Tetum says.

Although many Cameroonians cite the poor economic state of Cameroon as a reason to apply for the lottery, immigrants face economic difficulties in the U.S. too, Tetum says.

“Immigrants work multiple jobs just to mak[e] ends meet,” she says. “I cannot go through all that stress all because of money.”

Tetum makes enough money for herself and her children as a seamstress, she says. She would not want to start a new life in the U.S. Beyond the economic concerns, she would not want to expose her children to the liberal culture there.

“I hear a lot about lesbianism and gay culture,” she says. “I will not want my children to be exposed to such happenings.”

Tetum finds it funny to watch wealthy Cameroonians play the Diversity Visa lottery, she says.

“It is ridiculous to see well-to-do Cameroonians rushing to play the lottery,” she says.  “It is really ridiculous.”

Siddiq says he has noticed that more Cameroonians want to travel abroad at all costs, be it through illegal or legal means. He hopes that more Cameroonians will travel legally by winning the Diversity Visa lottery.

“I pray that more Cameroonians who are itching to travel abroad win the lottery and secure visas,” he says. “It is the surest way of living legally and happily in America.”

Kinsam will not give up playing the Diversity Visa lottery as long as Cameroon remains eligible, she says.

“I will keep playing the DV lottery until I win,” she says. “Only death will stop me from playing.”