The Consul General at the American Embassy in Accra, Dr. Philip-Franz Seitz, has advised Ghanaians to avoid the services of roadside visa registration centers, since such outlets have no connection with the embassy.

He told Business Day that patrons who engage the services of such outlets do so at their own peril since divulging vital information to strangers could be dangerous.

“The embassy has absolutely no relationship at all with any middlemen. Dvlottery.state.gov is the only place you need to go for entering the diversity visa lottery. We have no relationship with middlemen. We think you should stay away from them. To the extent you can, do everything yourself”, the Consul General stated.

Checks by Business Day have revealed that droves of American Visa Lottery registration centers have once again sprung up across various locations in Accra.

The annual visa lottery, which lasts for a month each year, creates job employments for some youth in Ghana as they are often seen providing registration services for migrant hopefuls who want to partake in the lottery.

These centers, which often comprise of a canopy, a table and a computer, are found along principal streets and business centers in Accra. They charge between GHS 7.00 and GHS 10.00 for each registration.

Business Day findings also revealed that at the end of the month-long visa lottery, registration centers would have registered no less than fifty Ghanaians hopeful of migrating to the United States of America.

Speaking to some owners of some registration centers in some parts of Accra, they revealed that it was a good way of making money in a legitimate way as well as assisting people who were interested in the visa lottery but could not do so on their own.

“When the visa lottery opens in October, it means that we can make a little money because people who do not have internet at home or cannot use computers, come to us to help them register. The forms are online and filling it requires careful attention. That is why people come to us”, an owner told Business Day.

Another registration center owner at New Achimota revealed that people who patronize his services are often people who do not have access to internet or are not computer literate but want to participate.

“People who come here often do not have internet access. Some too don’t know how to use the computer or the internet but they want to register for it because they have heard about it. We do it for them for only GHS 10.00”, he said.

On the patronage and success rate of these centers, some owners revealed that it was a lottery and as such, there was no guarantee that a participant could win because they had registered at a particular center.

Others also revealed that quite a number of participants who registered with them had been successful.

“Honestly, the center you register at is not a guarantee. This is lottery and it is about luck. I have had some people who registered with me being successful but I also believe it is about luck”, an owner at Lapaz told Business Day.

Another owner at Dome who had indicated on his banner that 75 out of 200 of his clients who registered last year were selected for the visa interview said “for me, I have a high rate of success. Majority of those who register here are selected for the interview. It is not only last year but previous years as well because I make sure that it is done well”.

The 2016 DV Visa program opened on Wednesday October 1, 2014 and will close on Monday November 3, 2014 at 12 noon. Already registration centers have started business.

But Consul General at the American Embassy, Dr. Philip-Franz Seitz insists that dvlottery.state.gov is the only place that migrant hopefuls should visit to register for the American DV lottery.

He cautioned those interested in participating in the DV lottery to avoid showing their private documents to middlemen and avoid any dealings with such people since the practice only encouraged identity theft and other corrupt practices.

Applicants are to submit entries electronically during the registration period using the electronic DV entry form at www.dvlottery.state.gov.

The Congressionally mandated diversity Immigrant Visa program is administered annually by the Department of State and presents 50,000 diversity visas to migrant hopefuls. The registration comes at no cost.

Applicants who are selected in the lottery must meet simple but strict eligibility requirements to qualify for the diversity visa. Diversity visas are distributed among six geographic regions and no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available visas in any given year.

The DV lottery is open to persons 21 years and above and in possession of at least a West African Senior Secondary Certificate (WASSCE).

Applicants are advised by the Consul General to register once this year (and every other year) as double registration automatically disqualifies the applicant from entering the lottery.

Applicants are also advised to provide truthful and accurate information and documents where necessary to avoid disqualification.

For DV-2016, natives of Nigeria, Brazil, China and some other countries are not eligible to apply since more than 50,000 natives of these countries have already migrated to the United States.