Ros-Lehtinen Touting Underused Visa Program

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen wants potential immigrants to apply for a historically underused program to get visas.

Ros-Lehtinen is referencing the Diversity Visa program which grants 50,000 visas annually for people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the U.S.

In a statement, Ros-Lehtinen said the program provides an important way for individuals to immigrate and contribute to life in the U.S.

Applications can be submitted electronically through the State Department's Diversity Visa website. The deadline is Saturday.

There are 19 countries whose citizens are not considered eligible to apply because more than 50,000 have already immigrated to the U.S. in the last five years.

Those countries include Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republican, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico and Peru, among others.