In the midst of the current immigration benefit drought lies a silver lining, a thread of good news and an opportunity for another 50,000 immigrants to obtain permanent resident status to come into the United States starting October 1, 2012.

The U.S. Immigration News is happy to announce that the result of the DV Lottery 2013 entered into between October 4, 2011 and November 5, 2012 will be released to all the winners on or before May 1, 2012. No winner will be contacted by mail. The result will only be available online at the website of the U.S. Department of State. All applicants will need their confirmation number, family name and the year of birth to check the result when released.

This article is written early enough to forewarn all our readers about the scams that usually occur before and at the time the official result is released. Many scam artists and fraudsters are going to kick into action very soon to defraud unsuspecting immigrants by asking them to pay to claim their winning number or package. Precedents have shown that con-Artists will try to infiltrate the process to take advantage of vulnerable immigrants. All applicants must beware of the D.V. scam going on around the world as the scam- artists will attempt to send similar winning packages to people with the hope of extorting money from unsuspecting immigrants.

Let me be clear, the U.S. Department of State managing the lottery program does not charge any fee. The State Department will not contact anyone by e-mail or by mail. If you receive any e-mail or letter claiming you have won the lottery, it is a scam, please do not give your information and do not send money to anyone regarding the lottery program.

If you receive any mail or email about winning the DV lottery 2012 and you are confused please verify with an attorney before you spend your money. The U.S. Department of State does not send result by e-mail. The U.S. Department of State will not ask you to pay online or via Western Union. If you get any e-mail telling you that you won via e-mail, forward such e-mail to me and I will let you know what to do. Do not reply them, and do not send money to them.

It is also important to note that if you check online and you are one of the winners, please contact an attorney immediately or follow the instruction in your winning letter. Please note that winning is just the beginning of the process. According to the U.S. Department of State, visa issuance to you is not guaranteed, and there are numerous processing stages that must be completed before a selectee can be scheduled for interview.

Please note that more entries are selected each year than there are available visas, and it is important that you complete and return the forms and documents listed in the instructions as quickly as possible. If you currently reside abroad, do not sell your assets or resign your job in anticipation of migrating to the United States until you obtain the visa to travel.

The above part of the instruction about completing and returning the forms to the Kentucky Consular Center only applies to applicants that are outside the United States. If you are in the United States, the procedure that you need to follow is different. You will NOT need to complete the Forms 230 and DSP 122 in the winning package. The procedure you will need to follow is on pages 5 and 6 of the stapled instruction in your winning package titled “Adjusting Status in the U.S.” According to the U.S. Department of State, if you are in the U.S. “it will not be necessary for you to contact the KCC for any further information or instructions if you apply to adjust status in the United States, and the KCC will not contact you again.”

It is important that the winners who are in the U.S. know that there are requirements for adjustment of status in the U.S. If an applicant is out of status at the time of winning the lottery and no previous petition was filed for the applicant before April 30, 2001, the applicant might not be able to get the green card from the lottery program. It is very important that winners residing in the U.S. consult with a qualified immigration attorney before attempting to process their applications.

Majority of the winners in the U.S. will need the passage of Section 245(i) INA to qualify; some might be qualified, using the services of experienced immigration attorney, under the old Section 245(i) INA as a grandfathered alien.

As you might know, without Section 245(i) relief which allows an undocumented alien or alien who is out of status to pay a penalty of $1000 for overstaying or violating immigration law, most of the winners in the United States will not be able to reap the benefit of winning. A winner who is out of status cannot adjust status to permanent resident status without section 245(i) INA.

If you are currently in the United States and wish to adjust your status without traveling abroad, do not send anything to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before consulting with an attorney.

It is expected that over 100,000 winners will receive the winning packages this year, but less than half will actually get the “green card”. Majority of the winners will be disqualified for one reason or the other. The need to consult a qualified immigration attorney cannot be overemphasized.

You could be disqualified for any flimsy mistake, let your attorney assure you that by U.S. Labor Department and the program requirement you are qualified. All winners must avoid the pitfalls of the lottery program by following the instructions strictly. As stated in one of my previous articles on the lottery program, a winner 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. Please note that GED is not accepted as the equivalent of high school education. It is my advice that winners also avoid “notarios” who thrive on rumors and negative speculations.

This article is for your information only. It should not be considered as complete legal advice, which can only be given by an attorney after reviewing individual peculiar situations.  Please contact my office at 718-647-6767 or send email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , if you need immigration assistance concerning the DV lottery program.

Don’t forget, my book “Green Card Interview: Dos & Don’ts” will help you regarding any interview with the immigration. Every immigrant family must have a copy. The book is available through my office for $19.99 plus $3 for shipping & handling, please forward your check of money order to my office for $22.99, you will get the book in the mail within 5 days. You may order through my website, wwww.lawyerfamuyide.com or on www.Amazon.com. The book is your gateway to your green card. Do not attend any immigration interview without it.

USI News

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