On a global scale, the most well-known intermediary organization advertising services for registering participants in the visa lottery is a certain USAFIS. Almost everyone who has ever been interested in the visa lottery will surely recall this name. Ad blocks in search results for the phrase 'green card' on internet search engines yield links to many similar commercial sites, copying the design of the State Department website and leading to this company's site.
USAFIS's main method of operation is phone calls and sending emails stating that you have won... the right to participate in the Green Card lottery. Such wording can mislead gullible participants: 'Well, since I won, of course it's time to pay.' If you regularly receive such offers, it means that at some point you left your email address or phone number on one of this commercial network's sites.
In fact, it should be remembered that all payments by lottery winners are made during the interview at the U.S. consulate. The confirmation of winning is an A4-format letter that winners personally receive from the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) at their own mailing address. KCC does not make phone calls or send emails. Therefore, feel free to ignore all offers to pay via credit card or bank account. There is no talk of any winnings yet.
Another 'fly in the ointment' in the situation with USAFIS is that with huge advertising budgets and a corresponding client base in the Russian-speaking Internet, there has not yet been a single person who has won by participating in the lottery with the help of USAFIS. This gives rise to certain reflections. Are participant applications even sent, or does the process end at the payment acceptance stage?
And in the CIS, another scheme has become widespread, reminding its unwitting participants that free cheese is only found in a mousetrap. A number of organizations accept applications 'for free,' knowing that all bills will ultimately be more than paid by the winners. It is enough to indicate their own mailing address in the participant applications, rather than the addresses of the participants themselves, and by spring they can reap a rich harvest of others' winnings. For example, in Ukraine, a certain firm specializing in the lottery demands $10,000 from winners for the winning package. In Belarus, another agency bills a family of four $2,600. Fake marriages also bring these intermediaries a considerable amount.
Every year, regional newspapers, and more recently the Internet, feature a garish application form from the non-existent National Visa Service Company. Everyone is offered to 'free' participate in the green card visa lottery. The contact information provided is only an email address, a PO Box, and a mobile phone number. Winners whose winning packages are taken over by this agency find themselves in an unenviable position. They are offered only two options: either pay a considerable ransom for their winnings or enter into a fake marriage.
Unfortunately, many readers will only read this material when the issue becomes relevant to them. If you have already gotten into a mess, and the prospect of parting with a tidy sum looms ahead, then further on you will learn about the possibility of obtaining a duplicate of the winnings. This will allow you to ignore blackmail from the intermediary who has taken possession of the winning package and go through the entire process without their involvement.
In general, a fake marriage is the most reckless act one can commit in a winning situation. This applies both to the winner and to the one who hopes to get to the US in this way. It is not only an immoral act but also a very serious crime from the perspective of U.S. law. Consular officers undergo special training to effectively detect fake marriages. Almost all fake marriages are identified during the cross-questioning procedure, and the accomplices receive a lifetime ban on entering the United States. It is not surprising that intermediaries, the organizers of this 'immigration smuggling,' prefer to receive their payment before the interview, as they are familiar with the real statistics of denials.
Moreover, since fake marriages are considered a serious crime not only in the US but also in most other economically developed countries, it is quite likely that in the near future a common database of such violations will become a reality. And then entry for fake spouses will be closed for life not only to the States but also to many other countries. Do not play with fire!
How to avoid a situation where an intermediary takes possession of the winning package and begins to manipulate the winner? Provide your personal data only to organizations whose integrity you are confident in and which undertake to use your mailing address when filling out applications. Then the winning package, if you become a winner, will be sent to you personally. There are some signs that should alert you.
How to identify an unscrupulous intermediary? If an organization that helps register participants for the Green Card lottery hides its location or even its official name, one should think about the advisability of cooperation. What if several applications are sent on your behalf, contrary to the lottery rules? What if your application indicates someone else's mailing address and your winnings end up with the intermediary? What if an error is made in your application? Where, if such problems arise, should you direct your claims?
Also, you should be wary of promises to increase the probability of winning. All participants whose applications were accepted for participation in the Green Card lottery have absolutely the same chance in this endeavor. Reasoning about an increased probability of winning indicates an intentional distortion of facts by the intermediary.
The same applies to the "guarantees" of visa issuance to winners promised by the intermediary. Issues of granting or denying a visa to Green Card lottery winners fall exclusively under the competence of US consulates. No intermediary organization can influence the outcome of the interview. If the intermediary declares that their assistance significantly increases the likelihood of obtaining a visa, or promises the assistance of some lawyers, it is nothing more than "blowing smoke" and empty talk.
If lottery winners are promised visa-free entry to developed countries, free higher education, and government social assistance, this is a very alarming indicator. Thus, promising the moon, the intermediary deliberately misleads participants and winners. As practice shows, the stream of misinformation does not end there. Be careful and do not treat information from such a source with excessive trust. If the intermediary offers you a fictitious marriage or manipulation with fake documents, this should be a red warning signal for you. You are dealing with a hardened fraudster.
Besides fictitious marriages, the inadmissibility of which has already been mentioned above, scammers may offer winners fake documents from a sponsor (affidavit of support) or invitations from a potential employer in the US (job offer). Such documents can indeed be useful to have at an interview in some situations – but only if they are genuine. Winners who buy such a "document" from an intermediary and present it at the interview become violators of US visa laws. The consular officer's questions regarding the American employer or sponsor can be very meticulous, and the forgery will likely be exposed. Moreover, imagine the consequences if it turns out that someone else has already shown similar documents from this "sponsor" or "employer". It is also possible that the person who signed such a letter, or even the company itself, simply does not exist. Do not get involved in scams with fake documents under any circumstances – it is a sure path to visa refusal!
There are also quite exotic scam schemes. They are most widespread in Ukraine, as over 5 thousand winning packages arrive here annually. In terms of the number of winners, Ukraine regularly ranks among the top five countries in the world. Naturally, this fact has not gone unnoticed by those seeking easy money.
Let us quote a publication from 'Zagranitsa' four years ago ('How Ukrainians wanting to win the Green Card lottery lose money'): 'Danger can lurk even for those who won without outside help. In the spring, when winning notifications arrive en masse, truly incredible events begin: packages with notifications are simply stolen at post offices. A few years ago, such cases were isolated – most often the package was accidentally stolen from an insecure mailbox, followed by an offer to buy it back for a small sum. In one situation known to the author, the local postman himself offered to buy back the win. Despite the fact that in such cases it is easy to prove extortion by contacting law enforcement, for many winners the safety of the package is more important, so they agree to part with their money...'
The only way to counteract a situation where the winning package is in someone else's hands is to obtain a duplicate. This is better than paying a "ransom" to an intermediary, stimulating their further activity, and certainly more correct than entering into a knowingly hopeless fictitious marriage. Obtaining a duplicate takes from one to five months, depending on how busy the staff of the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) are. The KCC is an institution of the US Department of State that administers the visa lottery. It is the KCC that is responsible for conducting it, sending out wins, and subsequent processing of winners' applications.
To obtain a duplicate of the win, you need to send a written request to the KCC. Print (or write legibly in block letters) and send to the KCC address a letter composed according to the template below. Naturally, the text should be in English. We will not provide our own version to avoid the appearance of identical letters. Note that the template is designed for a situation where the winner has a family. If the winner is not married and has no children, the template should be slightly adjusted. You can change the verbatim text of the template, preserving the essence and completeness of the information provided. To be safe, you can send another copy a month after sending.
This is what a request from a DV-2008 winner to the KCC for a duplicate of the win looks like:
REQUEST FOR A REPLACEMENT COPY OF MY DV-2008 NOTIFICATION LETTER
Case Number: is kept back by intermediary
Last Name: Winner's last name in English, as in the participant's application form
First Name: Winner's first name in English, as in the participant's application form
Date of Birth: Winner's date of birth in month-day-year format
Country of Birth: Winner's country of birth (its current name)
Address: Full mailing address
Dear Kentucky Consular Center, I am writing to request a duplicate of my winning package. The original was taken by an intermediary organization that is extorting a huge amount of money for it. I saw my own winning package and I know for sure that I am a winner.
Next I am attaching photos and information about myself and my family members to facilitate the search for information. I am sorry to have gotten into this situation and very much count on your help.
Then, starting with the winner, for everyone who appeared in the participant's application (spouse, children under 21) provide the following information:
Full Name: Last name and first name in English (and in parentheses indicate who it is, winner, his/her spouse, or child)
Date of Birth: Date of birth in American format
Country of Birth: Country of birth (current name)
Attach one photo of each with tape. Use the photos that were in the application or take new 5x5 cm photos.
Please send the duplicate to my actual mailing address: again provide your full mailing address. Thank you for your help! Winner's last name and first name. And don't forget to sign!
Address: Kentucky Consular Center
3505 N Hwy 25-W
Williamsburg, KY 40769, USA
The material was prepared using
information from the website Greencard.by