<<Print>>

A large number of married women in Accra have applied for the on-going American visa lottery for the year 2013. Ten registrations centers The Spectator visited in Accra have confirmed that close to 14,000 married women have applied as at October 15 with the hope to migrate to the USA next year. The United State Diversity Visa Lottery (DV Lottery) presents as opportunity for 50,000 Ghanaians to enter the lottery. The lottery which started in October this year, and would end in the first week of November, has seen a tremendous rise in the number of married women registering at various centers in Accra. A survey conducted by The Spectators at Kasoa, Dansoman, Abeka Lapez, North Kaneshie, Osu, Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, revealed that, ten out of fifteen female applicants are married women who normally apply as single women. A married-female applicant who spoke to the Spectator on condition of anonymity at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, said she was only trying her luck hoping to win. Once register of the lottery, Charles Amoah, said apart from the several married women who apply weekly, young university graduates also apply on a large sale. Meanwhile, Chris Santoro, Consular Officer at the US Embassy in Accra, who spoke at the launch of the 2013 Diversity Visa Lottery in Accra revealed that had since the Lottery programme started almost 20 years ago, about 35000 Ghanaians had won and were living and working in the USA. According to him, countries that in the last fives years, had more than 50,000 of its citizens already in the United States through the Diversity Visa Lottery were not eligible to participate next year.