# Green cards, terrorists and the Osbournes
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-cards-terrorists-and-the-osbournes/117605
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 6, 2002, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-cards-terrorists-and-the-osbournes/117605 "2002-07-06T06:16:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@G.Nome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.Nome)
#### Post date: [July 6, 2002, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-cards-terrorists-and-the-osbournes/117605/1 "2002-07-06T06:16:48Z")
Last night I saw an ABC news story about the increasing numbers of immigrants settling in the United States. I few weeks ago I saw an Entertainment Tonight interview with Sharon Osbourne in which she took the opportunity to beg U.S. officialdom for a Green Card. Foreigners who watch U.S. news must surely share my puzzlement over Green cards. Who gets them and who doesn’t and why is it so easy for some and almost impossible for others? Why are seemingly worthy people denied Green cards while wannabe terrorists seem to have easy access?
I hope my viewpoint isn’t seem as a racist one. I don’t mean it to be and I do realise my last question has dodgy connotations. Nevertheless, here it is: Is immigration to the U.S. almost impossible if you are, like Sharon Osbourne, white and English, or Australian or Canadian?
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### Author:  [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)
#### Post date: [July 6, 2002, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-cards-terrorists-and-the-osbournes/117605/2 "2002-07-06T09:27:26Z")
AFAIK there’s a certain quota (55,000 green cards annually) distributed in a lottery, but I don’t know too much about details.
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [July 6, 2002, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-cards-terrorists-and-the-osbournes/117605/3 "2002-07-06T10:35:51Z")
Here you go:
[http://www.ins.gov/graphics/howdoi/immvisa.htm](http://www.ins.gov/graphics/howdoi/immvisa.htm)
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### Author:  [@G.Nome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.Nome)
#### Post date: [July 6, 2002, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-cards-terrorists-and-the-osbournes/117605/4 "2002-07-06T13:15:26Z")
Thanks very much. That answers some questions, definitely.