**IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE 2012 DIVERSITY LOTTERY PROGRAM**

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.

If you checked this website during the first week in May and found a notice that you had been selected for further processing or a notice that you had not been selected, that notice has been rescinded and is no longer valid.

A new selection process will be conducted based on the original entries for the 2012 program.

If you submitted a qualified entry from October 5, 2010 to November 3, 2010, your entry remains with us. It will be included in the new selection lottery. Your confirmation number to check results on this website is still valid.

We expect the results of the new selection process to be available on this website on or about July 15, 2011.

We regret any inconvenience this might have caused.

Transcript:

“Hello, my name is David Donahue. As the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services here at the U.S. Department of State, I oversee our visa program.

Every year, the Diversity Visa Lottery generates excitement around the world, as entrants hope to be selected for the chance to apply for an immigrant visa to the United States. Some people have already logged on to our Entry Status Check website to view this year’s selection results. Regrettably, the results that were previously posted on this website are not valid. They were posted in error.

These results are not valid because they did not represent a fair, random selection of entrants as required by U.S. law. Although we received large numbers of entries every day during the 30-day registration period, a computer programming error caused more than 90% of the selectees to come from the first two days of the registration period. The computer error that caused this unfair, non-random result has since been corrected. We sincerely regret any inconvenience or disappointment this problem might have caused.

Because this problem unfairly disadvantaged many Diversity Visa Lottery entrants, we will conduct a new, random selection. The new selection will be based on the original entries. If you submitted a qualified entry in 2010 between October 5 and November 3, you do not need to reapply. Your confirmation number to check results on this website is still valid.

We expect the results of the new selection process to be available on the DV Entry Status Check website on or about July 15, 2011. More information is available on our website:

http://dvlottery.state.gov

Again, we sincerely regret any inconvenience or disappointment this problem might have caused. Thank you.”