WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- Thousands of foreigners may lose their chance to immigrate after the U.S. State Department said a computer problem invalidated the annual visa lottery.
More than 14 million applicants worldwide entered the Diversity Visa Lottery last fall, hoping to win one of 50,000 spots.
The lottery is for countries that send relatively few immigrants, and applicants do not need a family or work sponsor. It has been conducted by computer since it began in 1994.
David Donahue, deputy assistant secretary for visa services, said Friday said the malfunction led the program to unfairly advantage people who applied in the first two days of the 30-day window that ended Nov. 3, The Washington Post reported.
The problem was discovered May 5 as entrants were checking their status. Officials told the Post an in-house coding error has been fixed.
The department will run a new lottery with the existing pool and announce the results by July 15, Donahue said. Applicants do not need to re-enter, and new ones will not be accepted.
