DV Rules
Press Releases
Diversity Visa Lottery –Know the
Rules and Avoid the Pitfalls
The U.S. Embassy is gratified by the continued interest in the United States Diversity Visa Lottery (DV) program, and offers the following advice to assist interested Cameroonians from being victimized by scams or disqualified due to avoidable errors.
The Embassy strongly urges anybody thinking about submitting an entry in the 2010 DV Lottery to educate yourself about the rules of the program and avoid the common pitfalls that prevent otherwise eligible candidates from immigrating to the United States.
Each year, the Department of State is charged with issuing immigrant visas for up to 50,000 individuals from countries other than those which are source countries for significant immigration to the United States. Individuals who are selected through the initial online selection process have a chance to apply for a visa to legally immigrate to the U.S. The application season for 2010 DV lottery goes from October 2, 2008 through December 1, 2008. Entries must be submitted online at dvlottery.state.gov. Paper entries are not accepted.
To qualify for the program, entrants need to be natives of an eligible country; Cameroon is one such country. Applicants must also have either the equivalent of a high school education or two years of work experience in a qualifying high-skill occupation, within the past five years.
Entrants should submit only one entry; those who submit multiple entries will be disqualified. This year, all entrants, even those who are not selected, will be able to electronically check on the status of their application.
The U.S. Embassy in Cameroon encourages all Cameroonians who are interested in applying for the DV program to PERSONNALLY submit their applications or directly supervise the submission of data because intermediaries frequently make errors or omissions which can disqualify applications.
CAUTION: Providing personal information and/or photos to teachers, cyber café operators and other intermediaries has allowed such individuals to force legitimate winners to participate in illegal activities or to extort money from them.
Regardless of how the lottery entry is submitted, entrants are responsible for ensuring that the information included in their entry is complete and correct. Questions about the DV program should be referred to the U.S. Embassy to ensure that the information received is correct. There is no charge to enter the lottery and the U.S. Embassy will answer your questions free of charge. The U.S. Embassy strongly cautions against paying for information or services related to the diversity visa program since there are many dubious parties who attempt to take advantage of an unsuspecting public.
To avoid the pitfalls that have befallen others in the past, the U.S. Embassy offers the following advice:
1) Personally complete or personally verify that your entry is filled out correctly.
2) Read ALL directions completely and carefully.
3) Disclose ALL qualified family members on the application, even if you do not plan to bring them with you. Failure to do so will result in your application being disqualified.
4) DO NOT engage in a false marriage and attempt to add someone else to your application. Investigations are regularly conducted, and if you are found out, you will lose your chance!
5) DO NOT present false documents or attempt to mislead the Consular Officer about your application. The penalty for misrepresentation is a permanent ban from entering the U.S.
For more information about the Diversity Visa lottery, visit http://www.dvlottery.state.gov or go to the U.S. Embassy’s website at http://yaounde.usembassy.gov.