Office of Inspector General Report on Lottery Fiasco

Posted on November 2, 2011

http://oig.state.gov/documents/organization/176330.pdf

Tags:Department of State DV-2012 Green Card Lottery Office of Inspector General Department of State

Case Studies

At the time T “won” the DV Lottery, he was in a customary marriage. He then legalized his marriage so that his wife would be able to immigrate with him. But the consular officer had other ideas. Noticing that the marriage was a “pop-up” marriage — entered into after being selected as a winner in the DV Lottery — the consular officer accused them of entering into a sham marriage. T was accused of “alien smuggling” and permanently barred under Section 212(a)(6)(E). Fast forward 10 years. T didn’t think too much about the situation until he applied for a visitor visa. By then he had divorced his wife and remarried. At his visa interview he was denied a visa again for alien smuggling. He then contacted our firm. There is no statute of limitations on challenging a wrong finding of inadmissibility, so we helped him apply for a new visa and request reconsideration of the alien smuggling allegation. We assisted in preparing evidence of the genuineness of his marriage from 10 years prior and in completing his DS-160. At his interview, he was questioned about his previous marriage. Three days later, the inadmissibility was removed and he received the visa.

Case of T.M.

More case studies

Office of Inspector General Report on Lottery Fiasco

44 Reasons for a Student Visa Denial

Stop Fishing for Free Legal Advice: Why Complicated Cases Demand Real Consultations

The Clock Never Runs Out: Why You Should Challenge an Inadmissibility Finding Immediately