Many companies that prepare and submit green card lottery applications on behalf of applicants mislead the public as to the true facts about the Diversity Visa Program or Green Card Lottery and as to their role in preparing and mailing green card lottery applications. General facts to keep in mind are the following:

1. There is only ONE governmental agency and it is called National Visa Center. It is located in Portsmouth, NH. It is the official Department of State permanent Immigrant Visa processing facility that process all green card lottery applications. All the other companies that use the name "National Visa Center" are using that name in order to FOOL YOU, THE PUBLIC , into thinking that they are somehow part of the UNITED STATES Department of State. DO NOT BE FOOLED: if the web site that you are visiting is not at this address,  http://travel.state.gov/nvc.html , then you are not at the web site of the US STATE DEPARTMENT NATIONAL VISA CENTER. "The Department of State has only one National Visa Center. Other organizations using [the same names] have no connection to the State Department's National Visa Center in Portsmouth NH. " (http://travel.state.gov/nvc.html).

2. Some companies promise "immediate placement" or "non disqualification" in the green card lottery or that they guarantee that your application will not be rejected by the Kentucky Consular Center. It is impossible for any company to make such promises because no one will ever find out if any application has been received by the Kentucky Consular Center. The Kentucky Consular Center only keeps track of the winners. The Kentucky Consular Center does not keep list of all the applicants that were not disqualified. BE CAREFUL OF ANY COMPANY THAT MAKES SUCH ASSURANCES OR GUARANTEES.

   We promise that your application will be mailed to the Kentucky Consular Center in a timely manner. We usually allow 3 business days for the applications to get to the Kentucky Consular Center. Most of our applications are mailed within the first 10 days of the application period. The last mailing is 3 business days before the deadline. (Our last mailing contains applications that arrive late.)

3. Some companies represent that you will get an "OFFICIAL GREEN CARD LOTTERY FILING NUMBER", or that they have the "OFFICIAL GREEN CARD LOTTERY FORM",  and if you use their form, your application will not be rejected. The TRUE FACT are that there is NO OFFICIAL GREEN CARD LOTTERY APPLICATION FORM.  In addition, when an application is sent to the Kentucky Consular Center, the sender DOES NOT get any official filing number from the State Department. DO NOT BE FOOLED by these promises and representations.

   We promise that your application will be prepared according to the rules and guidelines dictated by Kentucky Consular Center and that your application will be prepared clearly, neatly and legibly. We have developed a unique software "smart ordering mechanism" which will ask you questions, determine your eligibility, prepare your original green card lottery application "on line", and give you the option of printing your green card lottery application in the correct format on YOUR OWN PRINTER, no matter where in the world you are. This will enable you to save a lot of precious time that is usually lost in mailing applications and request for applications back and forth between you and the company you choose.

4. Some companies offer you a "certificate of mailing", usually at an extra charge, as SO CALLED PROOF that your application was received by the Kentucky Consular Center.   DO NOT BE FOOLED. All that a certificate of mailing means is that an envelope was sent to a particular location. A certificate of mailing DOES NOT guarantee that there was an application in the envelope or that the green card lottery application was received by the Kentucky Consular Center.

   We promise that your application will be mailed in accordance with our normal business practices. Our fully automated data base, coupled with a well trained staff supervised by Attorneys Licensed to practice Law by the California State Bar, insure that the processing of all lottery documentation is recorded properly and promptly. We record, among other events, the date your order is received, the date your green card lottery application is sent to your street mailing address,  the date when we receive your completed application as well as the date we mail your green card lottery application to the State Department. You may check on the status of your application at any point of the application process as well as before and after the deadline to make sure that your application has been submitted in a timely manner to the Kentucky Consular Center. If your application is shown as complete by the beginning of the deadline period, then your status page will show that your green card lottery application was submitted to the Kentucky Consular Center no later then 3 days after the mail in period begins. For a sample of the Torem & Associates application status page, click here.

5. Some companies claim to have a "high success rate" or that their "success rate is higher than "any other option". Once again, let it be known that all registrants (green card lottery applicants), are selected AT RANDOM by A COMPUTER from among all other qualified entries. A company can not legitimately claim a "high rate of success" because it is the computer that chooses the winners. All applicants who submitted a proper green card lottery application to the Kentucky Consular Center have an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/CHANCE to win. Keep in mind that only ONE entry per person per year is allowed according to the Green Card Lottery rules. If an applicant submits multiple applications, he will be disqualified.

   We promise that our applications are prepared in the proper format and are mailed within the time period so that the green card lottery application will be received by the Kentucky Consular Center within the mail in period. Once your green card lottery application is properly submitted to, and received by the Kentucky Consular Center, you have the same chance of winning as any other properly submitted green card lottery application.

If you question the accuracy or the truthfulness of the information outlined in this page or this site, please visit the official government site located at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/lottery.htm for information directly from the OFFICIAL SOURCE, the US State Department. If you feel that you have been scammed or cheated, please contact The National Fraud Information Center.