Figures show 31,000 Albanians received U.S. residency since 1990

WASHINGTON, Sep. 22 – Some 31,000 Albanians have obtained permanent residency in the United States during the post-communist years since 1990.
The figure came out after a group of congressional investigators of the Government Accountability Office showed that nearly 10,000 foreigners from states sponsoring terrorism had already obtained such a residency in the United States in the past seven years, but Albanians were not included among them. Albanians are known to be close supporters to Washington’s global anti-terror campaign.
Congress created the program in 1990 to provide up to 55,000 immigrant visas annually to foreigners with low rates of immigration to the United States.
Albania has been among the top participating countries in the program, together with Ethiopia, Nigeria and Ukraine which are nations not on the State Department’s list of those that sponsor terrorism.