Registration for the U.S. Department of State’s electronic Diversity Visa (DV) “green card” lottery for fiscal year 2016 will begin at 12:00 noon U.S. Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014. Entries must be submitted by 12:00 noon U.S. Eastern Standard Time on Monday, Nov. 3, 2014. The DV-2016 program will allocate 50,000 immigrant visa numbers to individuals from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

Each person may submit one online entry during this period. Duplicate submissions will result in the individual being disqualified for DV-2016. If selected, the “winners” will have the opportunity to pursue green cards. The instructions for DV-2016 are available on the Department of State website at http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/DV-2016-Instructions-Translations/DV_2016_Instructions_English.pdf. Registrations for DV-2016 can be submitted at Department of State’s website at https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/, which will go live by the time the registration period begins.