This is how the State Department informed 22,000 people they were not, in fact, eligible for a special US visa program after a computer glitch bungled the lottery:
We regret to inform you that, due to a computer programming problem, the results of the 2012 Diversity Lottery that were previously posted on this website have been voided. They were not valid and were posted in error. The results were not valid because they did not represent a fair, random selection of entrants, as required by U.S. law.
If you checked this website during the first week in May and found a notice that you had been selected for further processing or a notice that you had not been selected, that notice has been rescinded and is no longer valid.
19.6 million people applied for the 50,000 of these visas made available each year, according to Reuters. [US Department of State, Reuters via BoingBoing]
