Described by President Trump as bringing “the worst of the worst” to the United States, the Diversity Visa Program may be on the chopping block as a tradeoff for legalization for DREAMers, the unauthorized immigrants who came to the United States as children. Critics view the program, also known as the green-card lottery, as one that brings in immigrants with low levels of skills and education. But the data show a different story: Half of diversity visa holders come to the United States with a college degree. These highly skilled individuals arrive despite the fact the program is not set up to reward merit; applicants are required only to have a high school diploma or equivalent, or two years of mid-level work experience.

The Diversity Visa Program has long been under threat of elimination, and the merits of its current design are probably overdue for debate. But the discussion should start with the facts about how the program functions, and who comes on a diversity visa. And, future efforts to reform legal immigration should take a key lesson from the diversity visa experiment: Immigration policies do not need to explicitly prioritize highly skilled immigrants to attract skilled people to the United States.

The high educational attainment of diversity visa holders proves an important lesson for future U.S. immigration reforms: One does not need a "merit-based" system, or one that allows entry only of college- or graduate-educated individuals in order to attract highly skilled immigrants. Talented individuals from around the world are motivated to contribute their skills and unique perspectives to the United States, and are likely to come through whatever open channels they can —whether family-, employment-, or diversity lottery-based.

Read the full article about lessons from the Diversity Visa Program by Julia Gelatt at Migration Policy Institute.