By Bhola Subedi

The rush among the Nepalis to fill up the online form of the electronic Diversity Visa (e-DV) at an alarming rate since last year has amplified the quest of better opportunities at the other side of the globe at all levels.

Like every year, this year too has seen never-ending attraction towards what many people think would be a comfortable life in the land of ‘milk and honey.’

Upon hearing that 4 percent of the total quota offered by the US government under its Diversity Visa was bagged by the Nepalis, aspirations among people from various walks of life has grown ever stronger and the hopes are held higher this year too.

People have even started opening up cyber cafes in the city areas to cash in the boom. “The rush of the people at the nearby cyber café tempted me to open one myself at its adjacent” said Rupak Chettri, a cyber café owner. He said he had helped fill up around 500 forms by the first week of December through his outlet. “I hope the number will reach about 1500 by the end of this month.”

However, a large number of cyber café owner are of the opinion that the Internet access to a large number of households has hampered their business. Nimbak Shrestha of Patan, another cyber café owner, opined that the number of people who would wish to fill up the e-DV form has actually gone down. “Internet accessibility even at a tea shop has changed the course of the inflow of the inquisitive clients to the cyber café for which we had to reduce the price for the service” he said.

But the reduction in price is yet to attract people, as café owners like Shrestha would wish.

There is no fixed rate for the clients in any of the cyber cafes to fill up the form. Depending upon the location and the service provided by the cyber cafes, they charge anywhere between Rs. 50 to Rs 200 per person. However, a certain discount is allowed at every stall if two or more members of the same family decide to try their luck.

The tension borne by a café owner does not subside after the form has been sent. Only a few of the owners become lucky in providing their clients the message that the candidate has been selected. “Of the sixty forms filled up last year from my cyber, two were selected for the visa procedure” says Uddhav Sharma who comes all the way from Bhaktapur to Kathmandu to run his cyber café. On the contrary, Rupak Chettri from Chabahil lamented that of about 100 forms filled up last year there was not a single response to her clients.

The category of the candidates is largely youths who opt to earn easy bread abroad. However, middle-aged people, jobholders and even lecturers have been found trying their luck under the e-DV program. Chhatraraj Shakya, a lecturer at the Nepal Law Campus got his first clearance from the US authorities last year but is still entangled in the procedure in the hope of obtaining the visa one day.

Last year 2,698 Nepalis won the Diversity Visa Lottery. Of them, around 2,000 were issued the US immigrant Visas and the green cards. Some of the selected ones have already flown to the states, whereas a few are still entangled.

Every year, the government of the United States issues 50,000 visas to the people of the foreign countries allowing them to visit the US and settle there. However, a restriction has been made that countries sending more than 50,000 people each year will not be liable to compete under the e-DV program.