Phony website in circulation as the 'US Diversity Visa Lottery' registration portal - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 17, 2021
A link is being shared on social media claiming it to be the online registration portal for the American visa lottery which is offered under the diversity immigrant visa program.  Let’s fact-check the veracity of the website.
Claim: Website link for American visa lottery registration.
Fact: This is a phony website. The official websites of the US government end with ‘.gov’. Further, the domain of the website provided in the post is registered in April 2021. As far as the Diversity Visa lottery is concerned, ‘dvlottery.state.gov’ is the only website where an individual can register their applications. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Diversity Visa Program:
Each year, America’s Department of State conducts a random selection of Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) applicants, based on allocations of available visas in each region and country, from all registered entries. Some people call this program the “visa lottery.” The winners, picked at random, win the chance to apply to become lawful permanent residents.
Accordingly, the Department of State publishes detailed instructions for entering the DV Program every year. Anyone who wishes to apply should submit their application electronically on the Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) website during the specified registration period. It is noteworthy to mention that this website does not become active for submitting an entry until the date and time specified on the DV Instructions.
Further, as per the ‘Whois.com’, the domain of the web address provided in the post is registered in April 2021 in Iceland. This proves that the website provided in the post is nothing but a phony website, as the domain address is different from an actual US government website. Also, US government official websites end with ‘.gov’.
In the wake of fraudulent incidents where scamsters are tricking people using phony websites regarding the diversity immigration visa program, US Federal Trade Commission has categorically stated that ‘The only place to enter the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery is dvlottery.state.gov.’
The US Embassy in Sweden has also reiterated the above-mentioned points regards Diversity Visa Lottery scams. More information regarding the Diversity Visa frauds can be obtained from here.
To sum it up,  a phony website is in circulation as the US Diversity Visa Lottery registration portal.