The DV Lottery, or “Diversity Visa Lottery,” is a lottery held annually by U.S. immigration authorities. The Diversity Visa Lottery allows foreign nationals to apply for green cards based on their origin in countries with low immigration rates to the United States. Applicants may file USCIS Form I-485 to apply for the program’s diversity visa.
The number of diversity visas available each year is dependent on immigration numbers from previous years. Therefore, the amount of available visas changes each year. Usually, there are around 40,000-50,000 total green cards available through the DV lottery each year. Also, the list of eligible countries for the DV lottery is constantly subject to change.
What Are Some Restrictions Regarding the DV Lottery?
As mentioned above, one of the main restrictions is that the applicant for a diversity visa must be from one of the countries that qualify for the lottery program. This list may change frequently, so it is important for applicants to check the listings or consult with a legal professional for up-to-date information on eligible countries.
In addition to these restrictions, there are various requirements based on educational level, income, and work experience. Lastly, some diversity visas are available to people who are already legally in the U.S. Those already in the U.S. may qualify for an adjustment of status.
In order to prevent a DV Lottery fraud claim and to avoid unnecessary investigations, a person should familiarize themselves with DV Lottery requirements thoroughly before they submit an application.
What Is DV Lottery Fraud?
Diversity Visa Lottery scams and frauds generally come in two different types as follows:
- DV Lottery Scams: These scams involve individuals or companies sending letters to foreign nationals stating that they have won a DV lottery. The scam operators then ask the scam victim for money in return for help processing the visa.
- A person who receives such a communication should never respond to any non-official correspondence regarding DV Lotteries. The U.S. Department of State (DOS) informs DV applicants that they may receive an email from the U.S. government that tells them to check their status online through DV Entrant Status Check.
- However, applicants do not receive a notification letter or email informing them that they can apply for a visa. The only way that applicants can learn whether their application is successful is to check the status online through the DV Entrant Status Check at https://dvprogram.state.gov.
- It is also important to remember that the fee for a DV application is paid to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate cashier in person when the applicant appears for their scheduled appointment. The U.S. government never asks an applicant to send payment in advance by check, money order, or wire transfer. If a person is asked to make a payment by check, money order or wire transfer, they can assume that the request is fraudulent and they should not respond;
- Immigration Fraud: This can involve an applicant who demonstrates fraudulent intent in an immigration application by taking such actions as providing false contact information or lying about their country of origin.
- The U.S.DOA advises DV lottery applicants not to use visa consultants. Visa consultants are people who claim they can improve a person’s chances. However, what they generally do is encourage the person to add false information to their application. Adding false information to an application does not help them at all.
- On the contrary, false information on an application form can disqualify a person from gaining entry. Or they may be deported if they are already present. If they attempt illegal reentry, they may suffer additional consequences for that. The U.S. DOS does not work with visa consultants, and visa consultants do not improve a person’s chance of success with their DV lottery application.
- The DOS also advises people who are chosen to apply for a diversity visa not to add any person who is not legally their spouse or child to their application. If a person does this, they may be disqualified, and it could even keep the person from ever going to the United States.
Say a person has added people to their application who are not their legal family members because they were pressured to do so by a visa consultant or for any other reason. In that case, the best approach is to tell the Consular Officer at their interview.
The Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Senate has reported that large-scale fraud rings are operating in some parts of the world. For example, in Ukraine, personal information about citizens is obtained, and they are then entered into the lottery without their knowledge and consent.
Citizens can then be prevented from entering the lottery themselves because the system detects duplicate entries. Scam artists then ask citizens to pay thousands of dollars to get their confirmation number to pursue applications for visas if they are selected in the lottery. On some occasions, visa winners have even been forced to enter into sham marriages with other people who want to get a visa and have the money to pay the fees.
For the first type of lottery fraud, legal action may be warranted if the scam company has caused serious losses to the victim. The company or party responsible for the scam may also face criminal charges.
The second type of fraud is also serious and can result in various consequences, such as removal from the country or a criminal charge for illegal reentry into the United States. There are also a number of green card scams perpetrated on people who want to immigrate to the U.S., and people should watch out for these as well.
What Are the Consequences of DV Lottery Fraud?
The acts that constitute visa fraud can violate both federal and state criminal laws. The punishment depends on the specific fraudulent actions and, again, the specific law, federal or state, that is violated. A person could be charged with fraud and the misuse of visas, which are crimes per U.S. Code Section 1546.
The punishment if a person is convicted can be a maximum of 10 years in prison for a first offense if the perpetrator did not intend to facilitate terrorism or drug trafficking.
A person might also be charged with fraud in connection with supplying false information on identification documents or other federal identity theft offenses under 18 U.S. Code Sections 1028 and 1028(A).
Another option that prosecutors have would be to charge the crime of falsely pretending to be an officer or employee acting with the authority of the U.S. government as outlined in 18 U.S. Code Section 912. Often, the people charged in connection with a visa lottery scam are charged with federal mail fraud, federal wire fraud, other federal crimes, and state-level crimes, including the unauthorized practice of law.
The punishment for any of these crimes would involve terms of imprisonment in federal or state prison and payment of large fines.
Do I Need a Lawyer to Help Me With the DV Lottery?
The Diversity Visa Lottery can be a helpful program for people who want to immigrate to the U.S. You may want to consult an immigration lawyer in your area if you or a loved one of yours needs assistance with a diversity visa application.
LegalMatch.com can connect you to an attorney who can explain the DV lottery program and help you put together the right kind of application. Also, if you need assistance with any legal documents or court appearances, your lawyer can help with those aspects of the process as well.
