[Updated with Transcript of the statement by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services.]

The United States State Department announced on May 13 that ‘the results of the 2012 Diversity Lottery that were previously posted on its website have been voided’ due to a computer glitch.

The Sate Department had previously announced that as of this year it would post the results of the so called Diversity Visa(DV) on its website, rather than by mail – as it had been the case in previous years.

Accordingly, State Department had posted on its website the results of DV 2012 about fifteen days ago and the US Embassy in Addis Ababa told applicants to check the website in its press release on May 12, 2011.

However, the results ‘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’, according to David T. Donahue, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services said that ‘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.’

Therefore, the selection process will be repeated and the results are expected to be posted on its website ‘on or about July 15, 2011,’ State Department said.

The statement noted that the new selection process will consider ‘all qualified entries received during the October 5 to November 3, 2010 registration period’ and ‘new entries will not be accepted.‘

It is be recalled that 580,000 Ethiopians applied for the 2012 Diversity Lottery, as previously reported on this blog.

Read below the statement by State Department.

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*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that you had been selected for further processing or a notice that you had not been selected, that notice has been rescinded and is no longer valid.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.

Click here to view a message from David T. Donahue, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services:

Transcript: [of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services ]

“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.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why was it necessary to invalidate the names that were selected?

• U.S. law requires that Diversity Immigrant visas be made available through a strictly random process.  A computer programming error resulted in a selection that was not truly random.

• Since the computer programming error caused an outcome that was not random, the outcome did not meet the requirements of the law, and would have been unfair to many DV entrants.

Q:  Is the 2012 Diversity Visa Program cancelled?

• No.  The 2012 program will continue.  The computer programming error has been identified and corrected.  The Department of State will run a new selection using all the qualified entries (ones received between October 5, 2010 and November 3, 2010) it received for the 2012 program.

Q:  Do I have to submit a new application?

• No.  You may not submit a new application.  We will use all qualified entries received during the October 5 to November 3, 2010 registration period.

Q:   Will you open a new entry period?

• New entries will not be accepted.

Q:  I checked the Entry Status Check website after May 1 and it said I had been selected.  Can I apply for a DV visa?

• Unfortunately results previously posted on this website were not valid because the selection process was not fair or random.  We will take the entries of all individuals who sent in their registration during the original October 5 to November 3, 2010 time period and run a new lottery.  We regret any inconvenience or disappointment this has caused.  We expect new results to be available on this website on or about July 15, 2011.

Q:  How can I check the results of the new selection?

• The new results should be available on this website on or about July 15, 2011.  The confirmation code you received when you registered is still valid for use on the website.

Q:  Was the Department of State hacked?  Was my personal information at risk?

• We have no evidence that this problem was caused by any intentional act.  No unauthorized party accessed data related to the DV program.

• This appears to be solely the result of a computer programming error.

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