If you receive an email that reads: “You have been selected as one of the lucky winners of the US Visa,” ignore it. This is a scam.

This particular email claims it is part of an email lottery visa program, gives you a case number, and promises a 10 year visa for you and your family. It says the visas are processed through the “Asia Center” and gives a phone number and email address to contact. At the bottom the email says there is a processing fee of $880 pr $1590 for dual or family visas, but promises free air tickets.

Unfortunately, immigration scams are becoming more and more common due to the high demand for visas. Do not let yourself fall for something like this. Although the immigration policies can be confusing, no one wins a visa through a lucky email.

If you have applied for the Diversity Visa program (Visa Lottery), you can only check the status of your application on the DV Lottery government website at https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/. They will email you to remind you to check your status, but will not notify you if you have been selected.

No organizations or companies can give you a visa or increase your chances of being selected for a visa. If the email provides a website or email address that ends in something other than “.gov” it is NOT an official government website or email. Do not give them any personal information. These types of scammers take advantage of the ambiguity of the system to extract money from victims and sometimes ask for personal information for identity theft.

Contact me if you have any questions.