Accra, Nov. 15, GNA - About three weeks to the close of entry applications for the 2008 US Visa Lottery, also called the Diversity Visa or DV, officials of the Consular Section of the American Embassy in Accra are warning Ghanaians to be wary of people who might want to dupe them in the application process.

Mr Michael Gray, officer in charge of DV at the Section, said the lottery was free to enter and the application fee of 755 dollars for winning entries was to be paid only to the Embassy during interviews after the applicant had been declared a winner.

He asked applicants to avoid entering the lottery through fixers, who set up tables in front of university dormitories, in the village square or at their trade school.

Mr Gray said as long as unscrupulous fixers preyed upon the ignorance of their compatriots to charge exorbitant fees for both legal and illegal services, honest applicants would suffer.

Ms Nan Stewart, Consular Chief at the Embassy, said there had been an increasing number of fraudulent marriages arranged for immigration purposes only. There is also the prevalence of false birth and marriage certificates.

"These frauds do not do Ghanaians any good. They only help to put the country in a bad light," he told a press conference on Wednesday. She asked legitimate applicants to consult only official sources (www.state.gov or www.usembassy.state.gov/accra) for information.

They should never knowingly engage in deception of any kind and never to pay fees in connection with DV applications other than the authorized application fee, which is payable to the Embassy cashier. Ms Stewart said persons seeking to enter the lottery programme must register online through the designated website (www.dvlottery.state.gov) adding that digital photos must be submitted with the registration form. She asked applicants who did not meet the education level and job experience requirements specified in the instructions not to submit and enter the DV programme.

Ghana is ranked third highest in Africa and seventh in the world among winners of visa lottery. About 3,088 Ghanaians won the 2007 visa lottery conducted last year.