No US visa lottery for Pinoys

Published February 20, 2012 8:00am

Philippine-born citizens are not eligible to apply for the visa lottery program — the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery — that would give selected applicants the chance to immigrate to the United States. In a news release over the weekend, the US Embassy in Manila said only persons from countries with low immigration rates to the US may compete for the DV program. Along with countries like Vietnam, Brazil and Pakistan, the Philippines is excluded from the lottery because they have had more than 50,000 immigrants to the US in the last five years. According to Philippine government estimates, more than three million documented and undocumented Filipinos live and work in the US.

The DV program offers up to 55,000 visa slots annually for people who wish to become US immigrants. The lottery winners are selected in a computerized random drawing.

The US Department of State provides selected applicants with instructions on how to proceed to the next step in the process.

US Embassy reminder The US Embassy issued the clarification amid the proliferation of bogus e-mails claiming that Philippine residents may apply for the program in exchange for a fee.

The US Embassy urged Filipinos “to use caution when working with private entities to apply for visas to the United States, as reports of fraudulent e-mails, websites, and print advertisements offering visa services are on the rise.”

“No other organization or private company is authorized by the US Department of State to notify DV program applicants of their winning entries or the next steps in the process of applying for their immigrant visas,” the embassy said.

One bogus e-mail instructed recipients to send money through Western Union to a fictitious person at the US Embassy in London.

“If you have received this e-mail, you have been targeted by con artists,” the US Embassy said. “Under no circumstances should money be sent to any address for participation in the DV Lottery.” “Images of US emblems such as flags, eagles, monuments, or official seals do not necessarily indicate a US government website," the embassy said.

The embassy explained that the only official way to receive updates about the DV program is by checking this website: www.dvlottery.state.gov. - VVP, GMA News

Tags: unitedstates, pinoysinus, visa