Azerbaijan: Legal Channel for Brain Drain

Baku / 21.05.18 / Turan: The official website of the Green Card Lottery 2019 (DV 2019) published data on the winners of the lottery this year. Information on the results of the Green Card was made available on May 15.

Recall that online registration for participation in the lottery DV 2019 began on October 3, 2017, but ten days after the start of the application, as it was announced, "for technical reasons," the process had to be stopped and the previously filed applications to be canceled. The new deadline for submitting applications for DV 2019 is from October 18 to November 22. The period for determining the results of the lottery has also shifted - May 15, 2018, instead of May 2, as it was announced earlier.

In every case, from 100 to 125 thousand people receive Green Cards that give the right to legal living and work in the US.

In Azerbaijan, Green Card Azerbaijan acts as a provider of services for completing an electronic appeal for participation in the lottery and processing documents for entering the United States. According to the consultant of the firm Royal Jafarov, about 50 thousand citizens of the country applied to participate in the current drawing. Of these, about 500 people became winners of the lottery DV 2019. Most of them are young people 18-30 years old.

However, as noted by Jafarov, this is not the final data. The fact is that many people independently, without the help of consultants, through online registration fill out applications for participation in the Green Card Lottery. Therefore it is quite possible that the real number of lottery participants is not 50 thousand, but 70-80 thousand people. Consequently, the winners this year may not be 500, but 700-800 people. For example, last year Green Card was won by 960 Azerbaijanis.

There is an important detail. Not all winners receive permission and a visa to enter the United States. According to the rules, they have to pass an interview in the consular department of the US Embassy, ​​providing the necessary documents and maximum information about themselves, their specialty, and a real opportunity to work independently in this country. Not everyone succeeds in getting an interview. Preference is given to highly qualified graduates. Every year 225-250 people from Azerbaijan, on the average, receive immigrant visas.

As the independent economist Natig Jafarli told Turan, the specified number of Azerbaijani citizens who immigrated to the US is a drop of the sea in a huge flow of people leaving for permanent residence abroad.

"First, they move to the United States on a working visa, a student visa, or a bride's visa (to marry an American), etc. Then these people settle for a long time in that country. Hence, the number of emigrants from Azerbaijan is much higher than the winners of Green Card. Secondly, there are other routes for emigration. Our citizens prefer the European direction, choosing Germany, the Czech Republic, and France," the expert said.

It is no coincidence that Azerbaijanis are in the top five foreign immigrants who have applied for permanent residence in Germany. This is approximately 25-30 thousand people. But there are applicants for permanent residence in other European countries. Proceeding from this, it can be concluded that the desire and readiness of people to leave Azerbaijan has acquired a mass character.

Jafarli draws attention to an important detail - the age of emigrants and potential emigrants.

"Surveys conducted have shown that mostly young prospective specialists of 25-35 years old leave, able to settle down and to find jobs in the West. They are engineers in construction, oil fields and information technologies, financiers, and physicians. There is a "brain drain". The reason for this mood is economic, political, social and psychological factors. People want to live well, receive a decent salary, provide their needs, and give their children a quality education," the economist emphasized.

According to the chairman of the Economic Initiatives Promotion Center, Azer Mehdiyev, the situation that has arisen with the departure of a large number of young specialists from the country should seriously disturb the government and the Milli Majlis. It is necessary to hold serious discussions on this issue. Training of a specialist for 15-16 years costs the state budget approximately 100,000 manat. These funds do not pay off. Young cadres do not see career prospects in Azerbaijan. This is hampered by corruption, nepotism, the factor of fellow-countrymen, etc. It is necessary to stop the "brain drain"; otherwise it will be necessary to invite specialists from abroad, which, in fact, is happening. -0----