Abdi and the Golden Ticket

Each year, the US government does a strange and slightly surprising thing: it gives away 50,000 green cards (permanent resident visas) to people chosen at random via a lottery. But becoming an American is not easy, even if you do win a golden ticket.

For Assignment, Leo Hornak follows the story of Abdi Nor, a young Somali lottery winner living in one of the toughest slums in Kenya, as he prepares for his final US embassy interview and the chance of a new life in the States.

But as Abdi's interview date approaches, the obstacles to him achieving his American dream appear to grow ever greater.

(Photo: Somali refugee Abdi Nor was one of the lucky few to be selected in the 2013 US green card lottery. BBC Copyright)