Bangladesh “Graduates” from Diversity Visa Program

Congratulations! Bangladesh has sent more than 50,000 new permanent resident visa holders to the United States over the past five years. This is good news and demonstrates that the Diversity Visa program has achieved its goal of welcoming more Bangladeshi citizens into the United States as legal immigrants. In fact, the number of people living in the United States who claim Bangladesh as their country of origin is now estimated at over 500,000.

The Diversity Visa lottery program is a U.S. Congress mandated program to increase the numbers of immigrants from countries with historically low numbers of legal migration to the United States. Because Bangladesh is no longer a country with historically low numbers of legal migration, 2012 will be the last year that the Diversity Visa program is available to Bangladeshis. This puts Bangladesh at an equal level with other countries with high levels of immigration such as China, India, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

Because of Bangladesh is “graduating” from the Diversity Visa program, Bangladeshis should NOT attempt to enroll in the Diversity Visa program during the enrollment period. Applicants who attempt to enter the program during this period by using a false country of residence will have their applications invalidated and will forfeit any application fees they pay should they appear for an interview.

Fraud Warning

Be wary of potential fraud related to the Diversity Visa program. Individuals may approach you in person or send you emails claiming you have won a Diversity Visa. Be wary of these individuals or email messages. The only way to know if you have won the Diversity Visa lottery is to visit http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ and check your confirmation number using the Entry Status Check.

There are fraudulent websites posing as official U.S. Government sites. Some companies posing as the U.S. Government have sought money in order to “complete” program entry forms. There is no charge to download and complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. To learn more see the Department of State Fraud Warning and the Federal Trade Commission Warning.