Reminder: FY 2019 Diversity Visa Lottery Registration Ends November 22

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Executive Summary

• Entrants have until Wednesday, November 22, 2017 at noon EST to register online at the State Department’s official lottery website.
• Lottery applications must conform to the State Department’s strict requirements.

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The situation

Registration for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery ends on Wednesday, November 22, 2017 at noon EST. Foreign nationals who wish to register for the FY 2019 DV lottery must submit their online registration forms and accompanying digital forms by that time. Applicants must carefully follow the State Department's official lottery instructions to avoid having their registration disqualified.

As a reminder, due to technical issues with the DV application website, entries that were submitted from October 3 through October 10 have been deemed invalid and must be resubmitted by the deadline to be considered for selection in the lottery.

Each year, the U.S. Department of State makes available 50,000 immigrant visas available through the DV lottery. Foreign nationals selected in this year’s lottery will be eligible to submit a green card application during the 2019 fiscal year, which begins on October 1, 2018.

Who is eligible to enter the lottery?

• The DV lottery is open to natives of countries that have historically low rates of immigration to the United States.
• Individuals from countries with high rates of U.S. immigration are not eligible to register.
  • This year, those born in the following countries are ineligible: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.
    • People born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan can participate.
    • Those people who cannot register because their country of birth is excluded may be able to qualify through a spouse who was born in an eligible country or, in certain circumstances, through a parent’s country of birth.
  • Entrants must have a high school education (or equivalent) or at least two years of qualifying work experience.

How lottery winners are chosen and notified

The State Department chooses lottery winners by random computer selection. Results will be published starting May 15, 2018 through at least September 30, 2019, on the official DV lottery entry status website.

Foreign nationals can learn whether they were selected only by visiting the official website and entering their confirmation number. The State Department does not notify entrants by letter, e-mail, fax or telephone. The official website is the only legitimate source of lottery results.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions about the DV lottery, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.