This year's Diversity Lottery Registration Program (DV lottery) becomes available to applicants from eligible countries on October 3, 2018. Entries can only be submitted electronically. You can enter the DV lottery here. All entries must be submitted between noon on October 3, 2018 EDT and noon on November 7, 2018 EST. There is no cost to apply.

Foreign nationals must submit online forms and a digital photo through the official DV lottery website. Only one entry is permitted per person. Multiple entries submitted on behalf of one individual will disqualify that individual.

Be certain to register on the official government website. Sites that charge fees to register are not the official U.S. State Department site and are fraudulent.

Visas are distributed among six global regions with the greater number of visas going to natives of countries that are the most underrepresented.

Not eligible for lottery registration are those from Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, the United Kingdom (except for Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories and Vietnam. Natives of Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible to apply. Spouses permitted to apply per lottery rules may have partners from ineligible countries accompany them if they are lottery winners.

Requirements to Apply
To qualify for the DV lottery, one must have either a high school education or its equivalent (i.e. the successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education) or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform the job.

Winning the Lottery
Lottery applicants should visit the E-DV Entrant Status Check website to determine whether their entry has been selected for the lottery. Notification regarding selection will be available between May 1, 2019 and September 30, 2019. Those selected through the lottery will be able to apply for permanent residence in fiscal year 2019. Note that the DV Entrant Status Check is the exclusive website by which selected "winners" will be notified of selection in the DV lottery.