Each year the Department of State provides 50,000 immigrant visas (“green cards”) for people from selected countries in its Diversity Visa Lottery program (DV-2015).
Entries for the DV-2015 DV program must be submitted electronically at www.dvlottery.state.gov beginning at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Tuesday, October 1, 2013. This year, the deadline for the DV lottery applications is noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Saturday, November 2, 2013, so if you are in a nonimmigrant status or would like to immigrate to the United States, you may want to try your luck. Keep in mind that your spouse (if applicable) can also fill out an application for you to double your chances of winning. According to the Department of State, if you submit more than one entry you will be disqualified.
For DV-2015, natives of the following (in bold) countries are not eligible to apply because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years:
Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.
Changes in eligibility this year: For DV-2015, natives of Nigeria are no longer eligible.
Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible.
For DV-2015 instructions, click here, and for the DV lottery click here. The best part – it’s free, so good luck!