Those who were already declared winners of the 2012 America Diversity Lottery Programme popularly known as DV Lottery will certainly be gnashing their teeth in dismay after realising that the results have been declared void by the United State Department. On the website http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/, an important notice regarding the 2012 Diversity Lottery Programme reads “We regret to inform you that, due to a computer programming problem, the results of the 2012 Diversity Lottery that were previously posted on this website have been voided. They were not valid and were posted in error. The results were not valid because they did not represent a fair, random selection of entrants, as required by U.S law”.
The U.S Department of State further informs applicants for the 2010 DV Programme that those who checked the website during the first week of May and found a notice that they had been selected for further processing or a notice that they had not been selected, should take note that the said notice has been rescinded and is no longer valid.
Further information also reveals that a new selection process will be conducted based on the original entries for the 2012 program. As such, those who submitted qualified entries from October 5, 2010 to November 3, 2010, are reassured that their entries remain with the US Department of State and they do not need to re-apply. They will be included in the new selection. Applicants’ confirmation numbers to check results on the website are still valid. In his message, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa, David T. Donahue says they expect the results of the new selection process to be available on the website on or about July 15, 2011. The US Department of State regrets any inconvenience and disappointment this might have caused.
