John Stahl

E-mail Scam: Avoid Green Card Lottery Fraud

Have you or someone you know recently received an e-mail claiming you’ve won the Green Card lottery and asking you to send or wire money?

Don’t fall for it – the sender is trying to steal your money!

Fraudsters will frequently e-mail potential victims posing as State Department or other government officials with requests to wire or transfer money online as part of a “processing fee.” You should NEVER transfer money to anyone who e-mails you claiming that you have won the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery or been selected for a Green Card.

These e-mails are designed to steal money from unsuspecting victims. The senders often use phony e-mail addresses and logos designed to make them look more like official government correspondence. One easy way to tell they are a fraud is that the e-mail address does not end with a “.gov”.

One particularly common fraud email comes from an address ending in @diplomats.com or @usa.com and asks potential victims to wire $819 per applicant/family member via Western Union to an individual (the name varies) at the following address in the United Kingdom: 24 Grosvenor Square, London W1A 1AE. If you receive this email, do NOT respond. Report it immediately to the Internet Crime Complaint Center and the Federal Trade Commission onlineor by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

For more information on this type of fraud and how to avoid and report it, please see the Department of State’s fraud warning and the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer alert on the matter.

For more information about the Diversity Visa Program, seehttp://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ and review the Department of State’s Travel.State.Gov DV Instructions webpage.

Source: The Beacon, The Official Blog of the USCIS at http://blog.uscis.gov/2011/03/e-mail-scam-avoid-green-card-lottery.html

USCIS Launches Citizenship Public Education and Awareness Initiative

Released May 25, 2011

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas announced today the launch of a federal initiative to raise awareness about the rights, responsibilities and importance of U.S. citizenship. The Citizenship Public Education and Awareness Initiative will provide new opportunities for immigrants to learn about USCIS’s free citizenship education resources available to eligible lawful permanent residents (LPRs) and immigrant-serving organizations.

“Citizenship is the common thread that connects us all as Americans. This initiative emphasizes the importance of citizenship—not only to immigrants and their families but also to our nation as a whole,” said Director Mayorkas. “This effort marks a new milestone in USCIS’s outreach to lawful permanent residents.”

Approximately 7.9 million of the estimated 12.5 million LPRs living in the United States are eligible to apply for naturalization, according to the most recent Department of Homeland Security analysis.

USCIS will employ digital media, a video public service announcement, and print and radio messages in a variety of languages. The initiative will direct individuals to citizenship preparation materials and other training and educational resources available on the USCIS Citizenship Resource Center at www.uscis.gov/citizenship. Messages will run May 30-Sept. 5, 2011, in the first phase of a planned multiyear effort.

Since the early 1900s, the federal government has promoted an awareness of citizenship and prepared immigrants for successful citizenship. This current initiative builds upon those historic efforts and supports the mission of the USCIS Office of Citizenship, which was created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to promote instruction and training on citizenship rights and responsibilities. Since July 2009, USCIS has reached more than 32,000 LPRs and potential citizenship applicants at approximately 560 naturalization information sessions through partnerships between USCIS field offices, local community groups and immigrant-serving organizations.

To view the video public service announcement, visit the USCIS YouTube channel atwww.youtube.com/uscis. To learn more about the Citizenship Public Education and Awareness Initiative and how organizations can support it, visit www.uscis.gov/citizenshipawareness.

Last updated:05/25/2011

DV-2012 Lottery Results Voided Due to Computer Glitch

The following has been posted on the official U.S. State Department’s website regarding the initial results posted on their website at www.dvlottery.state.gov…

**IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE 2012 DIVERSITY LOTTERY PROGRAM**

We regret to inform you that, due to a computer programming problem, the results of the 2012 Diversity Lottery that were previously posted on this website have been voided.  They were not valid and were posted in error.  The results were not valid because they did not represent a fair, random selection of entrants, as required by U.S. law.

If you checked this website during the first week in May and found a notice that you had been selected for further processing or a notice that you had not been selected, that notice has been rescinded and is no longer valid.

A new selection process will be conducted based on the original entries for the 2012 program.

If you submitted a qualified entry from October 5, 2010 to November 3, 2010, your entry remains with us.  It will be included in the new selection lottery.  Your confirmation number to check results on this website is still valid.

We expect the results of the new selection process to be available on this website on or about July 15, 2011.

We regret any inconvenience this might have caused.

Click here to view a message from David T. Donahue, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1857622883?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAGWqYgE~,KxHPzbPALrFGi6o0QhQY9IxyliWBJ3Vq&bctid=942119090001

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why was it necessary to invalidate the names that were selected?

  • U.S. law requires that Diversity Immigrant visas be made available through a strictly random process.  A computer programming error resulted in a selection that was not truly random.
  • Since the computer programming error caused an outcome that was not random, the outcome did not meet the requirements of the law, and would have been unfair to many DV entrants.

Q:  Is the 2012 Diversity Visa Program cancelled?

  • No.  The 2012 program will continue.  The computer programming error has been identified and corrected.  The Department of State will run a new selection using all the qualified entries (ones received between October 5, 2010 and November 3, 2010) it received for the 2012 program.

Q:  Do I have to submit a new application?

  • No.  You may not submit a new application.  We will use all qualified entries received during the October 5 to November 3, 2010 registration period.

Q:   Will you open a new entry period?

  • New entries will not be accepted.

Q:  I checked the Entry Status Check website after May 1 and it said I had been selected.  Can I apply for a DV visa?

  • Unfortunately results previously posted on this website were not valid because the selection process was not fair or random.  We will take the entries of all individuals who sent in their registration during the original October 5 to November 3, 2010 time period and run a new lottery.  We regret any inconvenience or disappointment this has caused.  We expect new results to be available on this website on or about July 15, 2011.

Q:  How can I check the results of the new selection?

  • The new results should be available on this website on or about July 15, 2011.  The confirmation code you received when you registered is still valid for use on the website.

Q:  Was the Department of State hacked?  Was my personal information at risk?

  • We have no evidence that this problem was caused by any intentional act.  No unauthorized party accessed data related to the DV program.
  • This appears to be solely the result of a computer programming error.

Diversity Visa Lottery (DV-2012) Entry Status Check

The online registration for DV-2012 began October 5, 2010 and ended November 3, 2010. Entrants who completed online DV-2012 entries can check the status of their entries by returning to the website at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov on or after May 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012.

Entry Status Check will be the ONLY means by which DV lottery winners/selectees will be notified of their selection for DV-2012. Additionally, Entry Status Check will provide you, the successful selectee, instructions on how to proceed with your application and notify you of the date and time of your immigrant visa appointment.

The Kentucky Consular Center will no longer mail notification letters to DV selectees. Those selected in the random drawing are NOT notified of their selection by email. The above procedures are explained in the DV Lottery 2012 Instructions. The “Selection of Applicants” section of the DV instructions provides information about the DV time frame and process.

It is expected that the next application period for the DV Lottery (DV-2013) will be between October and December this year. Official dates, rules and eligible countries should be announced by late September. For more information, go to the official US State Department website at www.dvlottery.state.gov. You may also contact our office in the early fall for more information and assistance to complete another application. Be aware that the application for the DV lottery is free and you do not need to pay any agency to enter.