A draft proposal from Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) would eliminate the diversity visa lottery — an annual programme that issues 55,000 immigrant visas to nationals of countries with low migration to the United States — and redirect legal immigration toward applicants who meet a newly defined "national interest" test.

The legislation, first reported by Fox News Digital, would also curtail most family-based pathways that critics call chain migration, reversing key sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, known as the Hart-Celler Act.

What does the bill change?

The draft text opens with a single declarative line: "All immigration to the United States shall serve the economic, cultural, and security interests of the United States as determined by Congress."

Specific provisions in the draft would:

• Eliminate the diversity visa lottery, currently capped at 55,000 visas per year
• Restrict family-based sponsorship to a narrower set of eligible relatives
• Introduce a mandatory "good moral character" vetting regime
• Authorise enhanced background checks, social media review, and in-person interviews for applicants

Who would the new rules affect?

Anyone applying through family reunification or the diversity lottery would face a narrower path. Applicants would also have to clear expanded moral-character thresholds the bill writes into statute.

The draft lists circumstances that could make a prospective immigrant ineligible, including:

• Gang affiliation, even without a conviction
• Prior arrests for domestic violence or driving under the influence
• Misuse of public benefits
• Any immigration violation, including visa overstays
• Tax delinquency

What is the Hart-Celler connection?

The 1965 Hart-Celler Act dismantled the national-origins quota system that had favoured Northern and Western European migrants since 1924. It replaced that system with a framework built around family reunification, refugees, and workers with skills the US economy needs.

Ogles, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, has previously called for repealing that framework. In a December 2025 post on X, he wrote: "The Hart-Celler Act scrapped the highly effective national-origins quota system and replaced it with an immigration regime built to favor third-world migration."

His new bill would partially unwind that 60-year-old structure.

Is the bill final law?

No. The text obtained by Fox News Digital is a draft version. Ogles introduced it in the House of Representatives, where it would need to clear committee, pass the full chamber, and then clear the Senate before reaching the president's desk.

No vote has been scheduled. The proposal lands inside a broader Republican debate over legal immigration, an issue that until recently attracted less attention than border enforcement.

Readers should treat the document as a working draft. Eligibility thresholds, the precise definition of "national interest," and the list of permitted family relationships can change before any committee markup.