Per the Department of State, due to a computer programming problem, the results of the 2012 Diversity Lottery that were previously posted on their website stands voided. They have mentioned that the results are not valid and were posted in error. The reason for being void is because they did not represent a fair, random selection of entrants, as required by US law.
Applicants who checked the website for the results during the first week in May and found that they have been selected for further processing or that they have not been selected, note that that notice has been rescinded and is no longer valid.
The Department of State websites also mentions that a new selection process will be conducted based on the original entries for the 2012 DV lottery program.
Applicants who submitted a qualified entry from October 5, 2010 to November 3, 2010, can be assured that it is still valid and will be included in the new selection lottery. You can still use the same confirmation number to check results on the website.
The results of the new selection process this expected to be available on the Department of State website on or around July 15, 2011.
Per US law, Diversity Immigrant visas should be made available through a strictly random process. Due to a computer programming error, the selection was not truly random. As the computer programming error resulted in the selection that was not random, it did not meet the requirements of the law, and would not have been fair to many DV applicants.
The website also says that the computer programming error has been identified and corrected and that they 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. Applicants are also requested NOT to submit new entries
The website also assures that personal information of the applicants is not at risk and that they have no evidence that this problem was caused by any intentional act. No unauthorized party accessed data related to the diversity lottery program and that it appears to be solely the result of a computer programming error.