Registration for the U.S. Department of State’s electronic Diversity Visa (DV) “green card” lottery for fiscal year 2018 began at 12:00 noon U.S. Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. Entries must be submitted by 12:00 noon U.S. Eastern Standard Time on Monday, Nov. 7, 2016. The DV-2018 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-2018. If selected, the “lottery winners” will have the opportunity to pursue permanent residence green cards in the United States. The instructions for DV-2018 (with a list of the eighteen countries whose natives are not eligible to apply) are available on the Department of State website. Registrations for DV-2018 can be submitted at Department of State’s website at www.dvlottery.state.gov.