Diversity Visa (DV) 2012 Lottery Results Voided Due to Computer Glitch

The Department of State (DOS) announced yesterday, May 13th, 2011, that a computer glitch has caused all results of the DV 2012 lottery (also called the “green card lottery”) to be voided.   Accordingly, lottery results published earlier on the DV 2012 lottery website are void and those applicants who were “selected” would not be able to apply for a green card based on the earlier (and now void) results.   See the official statement.

What Was the Glitch?

According to DOS, the glitch discovered earlier this month prompted the computer program to unfairly select people who submitted applications in the first two days of the 30-day application process that ended Nov. 3.   Officials discovered the problem May 5 around the time that entrants were checking their status. An in-house software coding error has been fixed, according to officials who were not authorized to speak on the record.  DOS has assured that their systems have not been “hacked” or otherwise compromised and that no personal information has been affected or stolen.

What Happens to the Prior Results?

As mentioned above, the results so far are void effective immediately.  DOS will hold a new lottery with the existing pool of applicants and announce the winners by July 15.  Applicants do not need to re-enter to be eligible, and no new applications will be accepted.

About the Diversity Visa

More than 14 million applicants entered a lottery last fall for one of 50,000 visas distributed as part of the annual diversity visa lottery, designed for people who would otherwise have little chance of legally entering the country. The program doesn’t require applicants to have a family or employer as a sponsor.  Under the law, the entries must be drawn randomly from all applicants.

Conclusion

While we share the disappointment of those who were already selected under this year’s diversity lottery, and while we are disappointed by fact that this computer glitch has happened, we accept DOS’s decision to void the results due to the computer glitch and the lack of random winning entry assignment.   We hope DOS would continue to work hard to ensure the integrity of the lottery process.  As we continue to monitor and report on related developments, please feel free to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to receive email updates on this and related topics.