Yerevan, Armenia - The U.S. Department of State announces the opening of the registration period for the 2018 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery, also known as the “Green Card Lottery.” Entries for the 2018 Diversity Visa lottery must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Tuesday, October 4, 2016, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, November 7, 2016. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon EDT on November 7, 2016.
Applicants are reminded that there is no cost to enter, that multiple entries result in automatic disqualification, and that they should retain their entry confirmation page with their unique confirmation number.
The annual DV program makes immigrant visas available to persons meeting simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated, random lottery drawing chooses selectees for visa interviews. The Diversity Visa Program requires the principal applicant to have a high school education, or its equivalent, or two years of qualifying work experience as defined under provisions of U.S. law. Entrants may prepare and submit their own entries or have someone submit the entry for them. Regardless of whether an entry is submitted by the individual directly or with assistance, only one entry may be submitted in the name of each individual. The person entering the DV lottery is responsible for ensuring that the information provided is correct and complete. Visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration. No DV visas are given to nationals of countries that sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the past five years. Within each region, no single country may receive more than 7% of the available DVs in any one year.
The law allows only one entry by or for each person during each registration period. The Department of State uses sophisticated technology to detect multiple entries. Entrants who submit more than one entry will be disqualified. Applicants must submit a recent photo taken within the last six months. Entries that include the same photo from the last DV year (DV-2017) will be disqualified.
There is no cost or fee to register for the DV Program. You are strongly encouraged to complete the entry form yourself, without a “Visa Consultant,” “Visa Agent,” or other facilitator who offers to help for a fee. If somebody else helps you, you should be present when your entry is prepared so that you can provide the correct information. You should retain the confirmation page and your unique confirmation number.
To fight fraud, the Department will use web site-based tools to notify entrants of their selection and visa interview appointment information. The Department will not send selectee notification or appointment letters to successful entrants by regular mail or by e-mail. Instead, entrants will use their confirmation number to check their status online. Starting May 2, 2017, entrants may enter their DV-2018 entry confirmation number into the Entrant Status Check, which will be available at dvlottery.state.gov, to determine if their entry was selected to move forward.
It is important to note that winning the lottery is not a guarantee that you will receive a visa - winners must be interviewed and qualify for a visa.
For detailed information about entry requirements, along with frequently asked questions about the DV lottery, please see the instructions for the DV-2018 DV lottery available at travel.state.gov
