2014 Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Registration

September 28, 2012

The U.S. Department of State has announced that registration for the 2014 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery program will commence on October 2, 2012.  For the purposes of this program, persons born in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are eligible to apply for the 2014 DV lottery.

The free-of-charge DV lottery will be open for applications beginning on Tuesday, October 2, 2012, at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), and end on Saturday, November 3, 2012, at 12:00 noon EDT.  Applicants are required to submit their entries electronically during the registration period at: Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery.  Paper entries will not be accepted. 

The DV program is a U.S. congressionally-mandated lottery program for receiving a U.S. permanent resident card. 

Applicants for the DV lottery are encouraged to apply early and should not wait until the last week of the registration period to enter as heavy demand may result in website delays.  No entries will be accepted after 12:00 noon EDT on November 3, 2012, regardless of whether or not there are system delays during the registration period.

Natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply for the DV lottery because they have sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the previous five years:  Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (Mainland-born), Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.