According to the Federal Trade Commission, people who are trying to obtain a visa or green card, which gives a person the right to live in the U.S. permanently, may be vulnerable to “green card” lottery fraud. Unscrupulous businesses and attorneys may try to fool them into thinking, that for a fee, their chance of entering the U.S. State Department’s Diversity Visa (DV) lottery can be improved.
The Diversity Visa lottery program is conducted by the State Department on an annual basis. Winners of the lottery have a chance to apply for an immigrant visa, which can be used to enter the U.S. Winners are selected randomly and there is no fee to enter the lottery.
Fraudulent companies can jeopardize an entrant’s opportunity to participate in the lottery by filing more than one entry. These companies may also charge lottery-winning applicants substantial fees to complete the application process. Beware if a company claims:
- it is affiliated with the U.S. government;
- it has special expertise or a special entry form that is required to enter the lottery;
- it has never had a lottery entry rejected;
- it can increase an entrant’s chances of “winning” the lottery;
- people from ineligible countries still are “qualified” to enter the lottery.
A delay in processing a winner’s application can ruin their chance for a green card because the State Department generally selects more winners than there are visas available. The department awards visas on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition, a winning application is only valid for one federal fiscal year.
To avoid being scammed, the BBB, along with the FTC suggest that immigrants know how the State Department’s lottery works.
- No payment is required to enter the green card lottery. You can enter on your own at the State Department’s web site – www.dvlottery.state.gov. You will need to answer a few questions and provide passport-style digital photographs. You should receive an acknowledgement from the State Department once you have submitted your entry.
- Submit only one entry. If you submit more than one, you will be disqualified.
- Selection of entries is random. Spouses who are eligible for the DV lottery can apply separately; the “losing” spouse can enter the country on the Diversity Visa of the “winning” spouse. This is the only legitimate way to significantly increase your chance of entering the U.S. through the DV lottery.
- Be cautious of web sites offering government travel or residency documents online or by mail. Except for entering the DV lottery, most applications for visas, passports, green cards, and other travel and residency documents must be completed in person before an officer of the U.S. government.
- Do not send your personal documents to people you do not know. Do not mail your birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, marriage certificate, Social Security card or other documents with your personal identifying information to businesses promising to complete your application for travel or residency documents. These businesses may be engaged in identity theft.
- Be skeptical of web sites posing as U.S. government sites. They may have names similar to government agencies; display official-looking emblems (eagles, flags, or other American images like the Statue of Liberty or the U.S. Capitol) on their web site; use the official seals or logos of – and links to – other government sites; and lists a Washington, DC mailing address. If the domain name does not end in “.gov” it is not a government site! Bogus sites may charge for government forms. Do not pay! Government forms and instructions for completing them are available at no cost from the issuing U.S. government agency.
For more information about the State Department’s Diversity Visa lottery, visit www.travel.state.gov and www.unitedstatesvisas.gov. You can also call the State Department’s Visa Services’ Public Inquiries Branch at 202.663.1225. If you are overseas, contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.