2008 U.S. Diversity Immigrant Visa Program Opens (10/06/06)

The U.S. Embassy in Kampala, Uganda announces that instructions for the 2008 Diversity Visa lottery have been posted on the U.S. State Department Internet site at http://www.travel.state.gov/.  The Entry Form for the 2008 Diversity Visa lottery is also available at the dedicated Diversity Visa Internet site http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/.  This website will be operational from 12:00 PM U.S. Eastern Standard Time (GMT -5) on October 4, 2006 to 12:00 PM U.S. Eastern Standard Time (GM -5) on December 3, 2006.  The application form will be available for submission during this period and this period only. 

All applicants should read the Diversity Visa (DV) 2008 application instructions carefully before submitting an application.  Applicants may be disqualified for not completing the application form correctly or for submitting more than one application.  Applications must be submitted electronically via the dedicated Diversity Visa Internet site.  Paper applications will not be accepted through the U.S. Postal Service or international mail.

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State under the terms of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act.  The annual DV program provides a maximum of up to 55,000 diversity visas each fiscal year to be made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.  The program makes available permanent residence visas to the United States for lottery winners who meet simple, but strict, eligibility requirements.  Natives of Uganda, who meet the education and/or work experience requirements, and other eligibility criteria, may apply for the DV lottery. 

The Department of State implemented the electronic registration system beginning with DV-2005 in order to make the Diversity Visa process more efficient and more secure.  The Department utilizes a special technology and other means to identify those who commit fraud for the purposes of illegal immigration or who submit multiple entries.

No fee is charged for the electronic lottery entry in the annual DV program, and the U.S. Government employs no outside consultants or private services to operate the DV program.  Any intermediaries or others who offer assistance to prepare DV entries do so without the authority or consent of the U.S. Government.  Use of any outside intermediary or assistance to prepare a DV entry is entirely at the entrant’s discretion.  Only those entrants who are selected during the lottery process will be informed.  Any entrant who does not receive a notification letter five to seven months after the registration period closes should assume that his/her application has not been selected.

The U.S. Embassy in Kampala, Uganda occasionally receives reports about unsolicited emails stating that the recipient is the winner of the “U.S. Visa Lottery Greencard” or similar program.  The Embassy wishes to advise the public that successful entrants for the official Diversity Visa Lottery Program are NOT notified by email.  Unsolicited emails that claim the recipient is a winner of a “U.S. Green Card Lottery” or similar program are often Internet fraud scams.