Instructions for the 2013 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2013)

For DV-2013, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants each to the United States in the previous five years:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, The Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible. Bangladeshi natives are excluded from DV-2013, while Polish and South Sudanese natives are included.

Diversity Visa Registration Period

Entries for the DV-2013 program must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Tuesday, October 4, 2011, and noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Saturday, November 5, 2011. Applicants may access the electronic DV entry form (E-DV) at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries are not accepted. Applicants should not wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in Web site delays. No entries will be accepted after noon, EDT, on November 5, 2011.