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Green Cards, Red Sites Revisited

Posted by Hannah Rosenbaum on May 23, 2006 11:00 AM

In February we blogged about some misleading Green Card Lottery sites that charge to “process” entries to the free US government Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery program. Each year the US government conducts a lottery to issue 50,000 permanent resident visas, or “green cards”, to randomly selected qualified entrants. It is FREE to enter the Green Card Lottery through the US Department of State Web site, but numerous Web sites that are not affiliated with the US government charge applicants for entry submissions. Feedback from our readers confirmed our concern that many people may be confused about where to go to enter the Green Card Lottery, so we are revisiting the issue to highlight the key take-aways from our analysis of these sites.


We find these sites misleading for many reasons:

  • Deceptive appearances make it less than obvious that these sites are not affiliated with the US government.

    • These sites have official-sounding domain names such as official-green-card.org, usimmigrationsupport.org and us-green-card-lottery.org.

    • The word “official” appears throughout these sites and in their descriptions within search engine results. The description for greencardforall.org reads, “The Official Green Card program Official Online registration.”

    • These sites mimic the appearance of the US Department of State Web site.

    • These sites display US icons such as eagles, American flags and government buildings in order to give the appearance of a government site.

    homepagecomparison.png

    U.S. Department of State Web site                      Official-Green-Card Web site

  • Aggressive marketing tactics attempt to scare applicants into using their services in order to prevent disqualification. There are strict guidelines that applicants need to follow, but the value of a Web site’s review of an applicant’s entry form is generally limited.

  • The value of their services is unclear at best. It’s always helpful to have someone review an application for mistakes, but we doubt that these sites are the first place to turn. The State Department Web site provides detailed information about the program, application requirements, and the locations of US embassies and consulates. Applicants may be concerned about the digital photo requirements, but there are other ways to get assistance. For example, the New York Public Library will help applicants take, adjust, and scan pictures.

We are particularly concerned that these sites may take advantage of user ignorance:
  • Many applicants may be unaware that the Green Card Lottery is free and will end up paying a fee under the assumption that this is the standard entry procedure.

  • These sites dominate the search engine results for such search terms as “green card lottery.” Twelve out of 20 first page Google search results (including 7 out of the first 11 ads) for the phrase “green card lottery” linked to these misleading sites. Using a search engine to look for information about the program could easily take applicants to a misleading site.

Google Search_0523v2.png.png
A Google search for "green card lottery" returns many misleading sites.


The bottom line: It is free to enter the Green Card Lottery through the US Department of State Web site. Government Web sites are the best source for the most accurate and up-to-date information about the lottery program. There’s little reason to pay third parties to enter the lottery. We do not recommend using a non-governmental Web site that employs misleading or overly aggressive sales tactics to submit Green Card Lottery entries.


Where to find information:

U.S. Department of State
unitedstatesvisas.gov
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services


Consumer Warnings:

U.S. Department of State Warning
FTC Warning
Better Business Bureau Warning
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Warning


Ten Sites to Avoid (found in top Google search results):


Ten Tips for Green Card Lottery Applicants:

1. It is free to enter the Green Card Lottery at the U.S. Department of State Web site.
2. When searching online for information, look for sites that end in “.gov” to make sure you are visiting a government Web site. Government sites will have the most accurate and up-to-date information.
3. Web site appearances can be deceiving. Web sites that are not affiliated with the U.S. government may use images and descriptions that mimic government Web sites. They may claim to be “official,” even though they’re not.
4. Be careful when searching for information using a search engine. 60% of Google’s first page search results for “green card lottery” were links to misleading sites.
5. Lottery instructions are available in seven languages, and the unitedstatesvisas.gov Web site is available in six languages.
6. If you are seeking help with your application, first contact a government authority or legal expert, as opposed to a Web site that is not affiliated with the government nor of any legal expertise.
7. There are often local resources that can help you with your application and your digital photos (e.g. The New York Public Library).
8. Don’t be fooled by aggressive scare tactics about disqualification. There are strict guidelines that applicants need to follow, but the value of a Web site’s review of an applicant’s entry form is generally limited.
9. An applicant’s chances of winning the lottery are the same regardless of whether the applicant enters directly or through a service.
10. Don’t be lured by offers of free airline tickets to lottery winners. (We found many such offers to be highly misleading and subject to contingencies.)

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