The suspension follows recent campus shootings in the US linked to a lottery visa recipient.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem confirmed that the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV1) program, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery, has been temporarily halted. The decision came after investigations showed that the suspect in the Brown University and MIT attacks had entered the US through the lottery program in 2017.

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The Diversity Visa program typically awards around 50,000 immigrant visas annually to applicants from countries with low US representation. Pakistan has been a key participant in the lottery, with thousands of hopefuls applying each year. Selected candidates are screened rigorously, but the recent incidents prompted US authorities to pause the program to address national security and public safety concerns.

Officials clarified that the suspension only affects new applicants. Pakistani citizens who have already received visas or are in the application process will not be impacted. However, new hopefuls will have to wait for updates from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before applying for the DV1 program again.

The move is part of broader immigration policy tightening under the Trump administration, which has previously imposed restrictions on several countries. Pakistani immigration experts have warned that prospective applicants should monitor official USCIS announcements closely and avoid submitting incomplete or unofficial applications during the suspension period.