The Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery provides 50,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to natives of countries with low immigration to the U.S. over the preceding five years. Anyone selected in this random lottery is given the opportunity to apply for permanent residence. Individuals granted permanent residence are authorized to live and work permanently in the United States and to bring their spouses and minor children as permanent residents. Please feel free to share this information with foreign national employees, as registration for the 2019 Diversity Visa (DV-2019) is now open. Specifically, due to a technical glitch, this year the Lottery opened on October 18, 2017, at 12:00 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) and will remain open until November 22, 2017, at 12:00 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST). If an entry was submitted prior to October 18, 2017, it will need to be resubmitted.