On Monday, October 16, the U.S. Department of State announced that due to a technical issue, the diversity lottery (DV-2019) entry period that commenced on October 3 has been closed. The Department of State further advised that all entries submitted between October 3 and October 10 would be voided and excluded from the system.

A new full entry period will begin at noon, U.S. Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, October 18, 2017 and will run until noon on Wednesday, November 22, 2017. Entries received during this period will be accepted and considered for selection in the lottery. The Department of State instructs applicants to throw away any confirmation numbers or other documentation submitted during the October 3 to 10 period.

The U.S. Department of State generally advises in May of each year who the lottery winners are and furnishes instructions to winning applicants regarding processing U.S. permanent residence applications through the adjustment of status or consular procedures. A total of 50,000 diversity lottery visa applicants from specified countries (access here) are eligible to submit lottery applications during this year’s lottery filing period.