The Immigration Act of 1990 creates a new immigration category of the "Diversity Immigrant Visa Program." This program issues visas specifically for immigrants who are citizens of countries where fewer than 50,000 immigrants came to the United States over the previous five years. It revises the political and ideological grounds for exclusion and deportation, authorizing the Attorney General to grant “temporary protected status” to unauthorized immigrants from countries affected by natural disasters or armed conflicts.

It also expands "the list of offenses that count as an aggravated felony to include the following: drug trafficking, money laundering resulting in a sentence of at least five years in prison, violent crimes resulting in a sentence of at least five years in prison, violations committed outside of the United States, and violations of foreign law resulting in a prison sentence that was served within the previous 15 years" (Ballotpedia, n.d.).