This archive report was first published on 30 September 2019.
The US Diversity Visa program, also known as the green card lottery, attracts millions of applicants worldwide each year. However, with so many people hoping to be among the 50,000 selected for permanent residency in the United States, scammers have found ways to deceive participants.
According to the US State Department, which runs the Diversity Visa program, participants should be aware of common scams that occur each year. One of the most prevalent scams is charging individuals money to enter the lottery, which is free of charge. The government warns that even if a company charges you to enter the lottery, they will follow the same procedure you would have followed had you submitted the entry yourself.
Another scam involves companies claiming to offer better chances of winning. However, the lottery drawing is completely random, and there is no way to increase your chances of winning. Everyone who fills out the online form correctly and provides all the required information has the same chance of winning as everyone else.
Additionally, scammers may pose as 'agents' or 'visa consultants,' claiming to represent the US government. However, the US government does not employ any outside consultants to operate the Diversity Visa program. The State Department encourages everyone to submit their own entries and get their own confirmation numbers that they will later need to check if they won.
Scammers may also create fake websites that deceive participants into believing they are submitting their entries for the DV program. The government warns that any website that does not have a '.gov' suffix is not an official U.S. government website. Diversity Visa program entries are only accepted at dvlottery.state.gov.
Finally, scammers may send messages saying you won the lottery. However, the State Department says it does not send emails or any other kind of message to inform participants that they won the lottery. The only way to check if you won is to use the confirmation number you received when you submitted your entry, and check on the dvlottery.state.gov when the results become available.
The next registration period for the Diversity Visa program (DV-2021) opened on October 2nd, 2019, and ran through November 5th, 2019.
