Grujica Andric
BBC journalist
It was November 20, 2018 when Nataša Stanković, then a 45-year-old entrepreneur, packed her life into four suitcases and swapped chilly, rainy Belgrade for sunny Florida.
She got a visa on her second attempt in the "lottery" within the DV immigration program and a chance to live in America, but in order to green card used she had to go through a two-year immigration process.
"In May 2017, I received notification that I had been selected, then I filled out the form online and I remember they asked for almost everything - from your date of birth, your ancestors' names, your school, the jobs you had," Nataša tells BBC Serbian in a phone interview.
She underwent mandatory medical examinations, paid a fee "of more than $300," and in July 2018, she successfully passed an interview at the US Embassy in Belgrade, she recalls.
"In a few days I will receive a passport with a visa and a deadline by which I have to go there, I still remember it today - it was December 17th, and I will arrive in Florida on November 20th," adds Stanković.
The opportunity that Stanković was given and used in almost no time was denied to many in 2026, at least temporarily, because in December last year the "lottery" was stopped (Diversity visa programme - DV1) where many foreigners like her have applied for a "green card" for decades.
The Donald Trump administration reversed the move after a Portuguese citizen, who had come to America in 2017, killed two people at Brown University in Rhode Island.
At the end of 2025 and beginning of 2026, The State Department has tightened the rules entry for those coming to the US as lottery winners, family members of people already legally residing there, or future workers of American companies and institutions.
More detailed checks, control of social media accounts, fees for lottery program participants, the use of artificial intelligence, and high fees for companies that want to import labor are just some of the most important.
In addition, the issuance of immigrant visas has been temporarily completely suspended for citizens of 75 countries, including all Western Balkan countries, except Serbia (Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia).
Immigration processes for residents of these countries have not been halted, but the key and final step, where their passports should be visaed, is therefore currently not possible, says Dušan Dragićević, an immigration advisor who worked for the State Department at the US Embassy in Belgrade for 24 years.
"This creates great frustration, both for spouses or relatives who have to wait a long time to reunite with their family in America, but also for those who have applied for work visas."
"The 'lottery' winners are the most worried - the lottery program is only valid for a year, so those who even got their turn to be scheduled for an interview and are waiting for a date are now afraid of whether they will eventually get visas," Dragićević explains to BBC Serbian.
Several people from those countries who are currently in the process and who the BBC contacted did not want to talk due to concerns that it could affect their chances of getting a visa.
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How to get from the Western Balkans to America?
There are "two and a half ways," says Dragićević.
"Half" is obtaining a visa through a lottery, where applicants, in addition to meeting the requirements, submitting documentation, and successfully interviewing at the embassy, also depend on a lot of luck.
For those who don't want to rely on the lottery, there are two other "basic ways," says Dragićević.
"One goes through a first-degree relative, father, mother, sister, brother, children, or spouse - that's family reunification."
"Your relative is in America, has a green card or American citizenship, and can apply for a family member to join them," he explains.
Another way is for those interested to find permanent employment and obtain one of the visas intended for workers before leaving.
"Then the company or institution initiates the procedure for a new employee, but today it takes quite a long time, it used to be much faster."
"There are also subcategories, such as obtaining a visa based on investing between one million and two million dollars in America, but that's not very common for people from our region," he adds.
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What has changed?
The system best known as the lottery is formally called DV program (Diversity Visa Program) and applications are usually submitted in the fall of each year, during September, October or November.
It was introduced in the 1990s and until now, everyone who had completed a four-year high school or had a specific job that qualified for the program had the right to apply, explains Dragićević.
At the end of 2025, the method of submitting the application was changed and it is now mandatory to scan the passport, enter the data from that document, and pay a fee of one dollar.
It is also mandatory to list all social media accounts that applicants must make publicly visible, so that the State Department can have access to the content.
"The State Department introduced at the end of 2024 State of the Army (State Chat), a tool that uses artificial intelligence and, among other things, is used to find different data that you may have submitted on two different applications.
"If you filled out the information on one application differently than on another, it could affect visa approval," Dragićević explains.
Chicago-based attorney Miroljub Đukić, who works with clients affected by the changes, sees several contentious points in the new rules.
"If they find that you have published something, for example, against the policies of Israel or the Trump administration, they can reject you under the pretext that you are a security threat to America," he tells the BBC in Serbian.
A mandatory fee of one dollar, although low, could reduce the number of applications in some countries around the world.
"The problem is that a large number of people, for example in Africa, do not have bank accounts, which complicates the application process."
"They are trying to make it more difficult to get a green card," says Djukic.
The process for obtaining H-1B visas intended for skilled workers, who go to America at the invitation of companies, will be significantly different, as they will have to pay $100.000 for their request to enter the procedure.
"It's caused so much debate about whether it's necessary and legal, how much it affects companies and whether they'll now look for people outside of America less, and there are lawsuits filed against the State Department," he explains.
Due to additional checks on candidates for these visas, the waiting period in some countries, such as India, which has a large number of applicants, is significantly longer than before, he adds.
"The goal of this policy is for companies to hire American citizens, because the Trump administration prefers 'domestic intelligence,'" Dragićević concludes.
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All changes are closely monitored by Nevena Aleksić, who has lived in Houston, one of the largest American cities, since 2016.
Nevena leads blog American dream, trying to help people from the Balkans when arriving and struggling with paperwork.
The immigration process "has always been complex and lengthy and could never be completed overnight," but after the changes were introduced, it is "even more difficult," she tells BBC Serbian.
"Now you don't know how long it will last or whether it will even end."
"I get calls from people who are in the process and say they are having incredible problems, some are already in America, trying to get a new visa and don't know if it's their last day of work and if they will have to leave the country," he describes.
She also sees the impact of the new measures in the profiles of people who write to her.
"I definitely feel that interest in America has declined, so now my blog is visited by far more people who are already in the country, whereas before it was equally visited by people who want to come here," he adds.
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Why are the Western Balkans 'on pause'?
As of January 2026, the Trump administration has "paused" the issuance of visas for immigrants from 75 countries around the world.
According to data from 2024, more than 280.000 legal immigrants came to America from these countries, which accounted for almost half of the immigrants to the US that year.
The official explanation from the State Department is that there is a high probability that citizens of these countries will try to live off welfare or other state assistance upon arrival in America.
"Since it is a long and complicated process in Congress to make this part of immigration law, they are now looking for small, auxiliary means that will achieve this goal without being in conflict with the law," says Dušan Dragićević.
Lawyer Miroljub Đukić considers the State Department's argument unfounded, although he does not dispute that there were "a small number of people who abused visas obtained through the lottery."
"It's been presented as a big, organized scam, but it's not."
"This is all a result of Trump's MAGA policies (Make America Great Again - Let's make America great again.)", claims Đukić.
"It is also not clear how they assessed that people from Serbia will not seek social assistance in America, while residents of other Western Balkan countries will," he adds.
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What has changed for foreigners already in America?
During her eight years in America, Nataša Stojković's life changed significantly.
She worked several jobs, founded a company a few years ago, and in the meantime acquired citizenship.
America has also changed, he emphasizes.
Her main impression is that life is far more expensive now than it was in 2018, when she moved there.
In recent years, she has felt a bit of "crisis and nervousness" due to the unfavorable economic situation, which she also notices through the operations of her facility cleaning company.
"People who used to have their houses cleaned once a week through my company now do it once or twice a month, looking to save money," he explains.
He briefly says that the change in immigration policy is "a bit realistic and a bit of a hyped story."
In Florida, there is still no sense that fewer people from the Balkans are coming to that part of America, he adds.
"The community has even grown, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, because at that time the health measures in Florida, unlike some other states, were much more lenient," he explains.
Nevena Ristic has not had any unpleasant experiences with the Immigration Service in Texas, but she notices that more and more immigrants feel they are "politically undesirable."
"Houston is a large and very multiethnic city, so that feeling isn't as pronounced, although the atmosphere has changed quite a bit in my 10 years here," he describes.
"Politics have made Americans feel threatened, partly because they've never lived there, and for most people, it's important to know who you are."
"If they don't know you, they perceive you as a threat and are afraid that someone will take their jobs," he claims.
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What does a tougher policy bring to America?
Since the beginning of Trump's second term, it has been "much more difficult" to come to America legally as a foreign worker, says lawyer Djukic.
A stricter immigration policy brings "no benefit" to the country.
"On the contrary - it does great harm."
"So far, America has received educated and professional people for free," says Đukić.
The new obligation for companies that employ such people to pay a $100.000 levy "has stopped the arrival of qualified people from Serbia with this visa," he claims.
They are now looking for jobs in other countries or trying to reach the US through other visas, he adds.
Some experts in America also point out that current immigration policy could threaten America's population growth.
Dušan Dragićević considers the basics of such a policy good and justified, but sees the way it is currently being implemented as unsustainable in the long term.
"Over the decades in the American immigration system, I've always wondered why illegal entry into the United States was allowed for so long, where people were in the country illegally for more than 10 years," he explains.
This would later complicate resolving their status.
"After so many years, they create lives and families, and then it's difficult to be harsh in their approach, as the Trump administration is doing now, so a way was found to somehow allow them to remain in the country," he points out.
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Despite the changes in America, Nataša Stanković would do the same thing she did a decade earlier.
If there were, I would sign up for the lottery again.
"I got used to life here, even though many people told me I was crazy when I decided to move from Serbia at the age of 45 and start from scratch."
The two-year process of obtaining a visa now seems easier to her than when she went through it in Belgrade.
"You realize that the interview at the consulate is nothing compared to everything that awaits you later," says Stanković.
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