News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Oct. 25, 2015: With registration for the 2015 Diversity Visa or Green Card lottery underway, U.S. State Department officials are warning applicants to be wary of fraud.
“Fraudulent websites are posing as official U.S. government sites,” states the U.S. State Department. “Some companies posing as the U.S. government have sought money in order to ‘complete’ DV entry forms.”
Free online registration for the DV 2015 Program is open until noon on Saturday, November 2, 2013. The program lets people from some countries apply to be a “Lawful Permanent Resident.”
A high school education or its equivalent; or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years’ training or experience is required to enter.
However, nationals from Nigeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom and dependent areas: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, St. Helena, and Turks and Caicos Islands (except Northern Ireland), and Vietnam are not eligible to apply.
Once completed, the State Department will give you a confirmation number. Keep that number safe as you will need it to check your status. The drawing is random and there is no way to increase your chance of winning.
You can find out your status only at dvlottery.state.gov and you do not pay until you find out if your entry was picked. You go to the U.S. embassy or consulate in person for your appointment.
If you suspect a scam, please report it to the Federal Trade Commission call 1-877-382-4357 or go to ftc.gov/complaint.
Diversity Visa applicants may include same-sex spouses in their initial entries or add spouses acquired after their initial registration.
The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available up to 55,000 diversity visas annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
