PRESS RELEASES

Advisory to Persons Seeking Non-U.S. Government Assistance to Obtain a U.S. Visa.

March 10, 2008

The U.S. Department of State advises those persons seeking to obtain a U.S. visa to be cautious in all dealings with individuals and businesses that claim to offer assistance with the procedures.  This applies particularly to persons seeking an immigrant visa to establish permanent residence in the U.S. Each year, the Department of State conducts a lottery through its Diversity Visa program to distribute applications for 50,000 immigrant visas.  Winners of the lottery have a chance to apply for an immigrant visa, which can be used to enter the U.S. and seek permanent residence.  Winners are selected randomly, and there is no fee to enter the lottery.  Applicants may submit only one entry during any particular lottery.  Those who submit more than one entry will be disqualified.  Spouses of applicants may also submit individual entries. There is no charge to enter the lottery. You can enter on your own at the State Department’s Web site ­— www.dvlottery.state.gov.  Applicants selected in the Diversity Visa random drawing are notified by the Department of State, Kentucky Consular Center by letter, NOT e-mail and are provided instructions on how to proceed to the next step in the process.  No other organization or company is authorized by the Department of State to notify Diversity Visa lottery applicants of their winning entry.  The Kentucky Consular Center has already notified the winners of the DV-2008 diversity lottery. The Department of State, Visa Services advises the public that only internet sites including the ".gov" indicator are official U.S. government websites for its offices located in the U.S.  Visa applicants are advised to be cautious in all dealings with companies that claim to offer any assistance in obtaining U.S. visas.  Please note the following: 

• Bogus sites may charge for government forms and information.  Don’t pay; government forms and instructions for completing them are available from the issuing U.S. government agency for free.
• Be alert to websites promising government travel or residency documents online or by mail.  Except for entering the Diversity Visa lottery, most applications for visas, passports, “green card” residency documents, and other travel and residency documents must be completed in person before an officer of the U.S. government.
• Be cautious about to whom you send your personal documents.  Unless you have an established relationship with a business, do not mail birth certificates, passports, drivers’ licenses, marriage certificates, Social Security cards, or other documents with your personal identifying information to individuals or businesses promising to complete your application for travel or residency documents.  These businesses may be engaged in identity theft.

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------How You Can Report Internet Fraud or Unsolicited E-mail  If you wish to file a complaint about internet fraud, please see the e-consumer.gov website, hosted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which is a joint effort of consumer protection agencies from 17 nations at http://www.econsumer.gov/english/ or go to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).