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Diversity Visas (DV)
 

Please visit State Department DV site for information on Diversity Visa (DV).

Fraud Alert

Please Note: Dishonest agencies in Phnom Penh have been extorting money from winners of the Diversity Visa Lottery (DV) program. These companies have assisted Cambodians to apply for the DV programs and later charged the winners outrageous fees. Winners DO NOT have to pay money to receive their case number and are warned not to pay high fees to brokers.

People and organizations that claim they can help procure a U.S. visa in exchange for a high fee are dishonest; only a U.S. consular officer at the Embassy can adjudicate a visa application. Applicants are also warned not to enter into fake marriages or use fake documents when applying for a visa: those who do so will be disqualified and be permanently ineligible for a visa to the United States. Please contact the U.S. Embassy at IVPhnomPenh@state.gov if you are being extorted by a local broker or to report visa scams, fraud, malfeasance, and other illegal activity involving nonimmigrant and immigrant visas.

There have also been instances of fraudulent websites posing as official U.S. Government sites. Some companies posing as the U.S. Government have sought money in order to "complete" lottery entry forms. There is no charge to complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. Please visit State Department Travel site for further details.

Facts

The DV Program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1990 through the Immigration Act. Since 1995 over 700,000 visas have been issued through the DV Program.

There are NO COSTS or FEES to register for the DV Program.

To enter the DV program, you must meet either the education or work experience requirement of the DV program. You must have either a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.

To submit an entry for the 2013 DV Program you must complete and submit an E-DV entry form at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/. The registration period begins at noon, EDT (GMT-4), Tuesday, October 4, 2011, and ends at noon, EDT (GMT-4), Saturday, November 5, 2011.
A successfully registered entry will result in a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number. You must print this confirmation screen for your records using the print function of your web browser and ensure that you retain your confirmation number.

Starting May 1, 2012, you will be able to check the status of your DV-2013 entry by returning to http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ and entering your unique confirmation number and personal information. This Entrant Status Check will be the sole means of informing you of your selection for DV-2013, providing instructions to you on how to proceed with your application, and notifying you of your appointment for your immigrant visa interview. Therefore, it is essential you retain your confirmation number.

On your entry, you must list your spouse (husband or wife), and all unmarried children under 21 years of age, regardless of whether or not they are living with the petitioner. Group or family photographs will not be accepted; there must be a separate photograph for each family member. All entries by an individual will be disqualified if more than ONE entry for that individual is received, regardless of who submitted the entry.

Starting May 1, 2012 you can visit http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ to receive notification of whether your entry has been selected. Your confirmation number from your DV-2013 online entry registration is required to enable you to go to the E-DV website and complete the Entrant Status Check.  Entrant Status Check will be the sole means of informing you of your selection for DV-2013, providing instructions to you on how to proceed with your application, and notifying you of the date and time of your appointment for your immigrant visa interview. If you lose your confirmation information, you will not be able to check your DV entry status, and the Department of State will not resend the confirmation page information to you.

The Department of State strongly encourages applicants to complete the entry form without the assistance of “Visa Consultants,” “Visa Agents,” or other individuals who offer to submit an entry on behalf of applicants. If you use the services of somebody else to complete your entry form, you should be present when the entry is prepared, and you should retain the confirmation page and your unique confirmation number. Facilitators may try to withhold confirmation numbers in order to make an unlawful demand for money in exchange for notification information that should have been directly available to you. The U.S. Department of State is unable to provide your entry confirmation number if it is lost.

Fraudulent websites are posing as official U.S. government sites. Some companies posing as the U.S. government have sought money in order to "complete" DV entry forms. There is no charge to download and complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form.

The Department of State does NOT notify successful DV applicants by letter or email.  Any such fraudulent letters or emails should be reported to tipsphp@state.gov.

The Department of State will NOT ask overseas successful DV applicants to pay any fees in advance. Only those applicants who come to the US Embassy for an Immigrant Visa interview will be charged applicable visa fees.