OK – it’s that time of year again – we are two hours in to the results process and history is repeating in some obvious ways.

• First, the servers are overwhelmed with people checking. The site is crashing. This will get better in a day or two. So – try again later.
• Next, people are having session timeout problems. If this is your problem, close ALL your browser windows, start a session with one window only. If that doesn’t work, try a different browser client (like Firefox, chrome or whatever).
• Make sure you are entering the right details. This post will help.
• Some people are just realizing the entry period was restarted. There was a technical problem in early October. The entry period was restarted and any entry from before the restart is not valid. They sent emails to people to warn people to enter again. The restart was from October 18 – so make sure your entry was not from before that date.
• If you have forgotten your confirmation code – use the lost confirmation link on the ESC page. There is no other way to retrieve your confirmation code.
• I am aware of people that have been selected. So – the system appears to be working at this point, apart from being busy.

Also – people often ask “will there be a second draw” or “should I keep checking”. In some years, they select a low number of people in the first draw and “top it up” with a second draw in September/October. I don’t know whether that will happen this year or not. So – check again in late October.

For those selected – please DO NOT rush to submit your DS260. There is no need to do that and no advantage doing that. Take your time to make sure you understand the process.