The U.S. Department of State will commence the Diversity Visa 2007 Lottery on October 5, 2005. Winners will be notified in the spring of 2006 and should submit an application for lawful permanent-resident status in the 2007 fiscal year, which begins on October 1, 2006.

The Department of State will accept entries for the DV-2007 diversity visa lottery on its web site between noon (Eastern Standard Time) on Wednesday, October 5, 2004, and noon on Sunday, December 4, 2005. (The application form is posted at www.dvlottery.state.gov). The Department of State no longer accepts lottery applications by mail.

Applicants should apply early to avoid potential delays as demand typically increases during the application period. The Department has tripled the number of servers hosting the registration website this year.

Applicants are eligible to win based on country of birth. Only applicants born in one of the participating countries, or married to someone born in one of the eligible countries, are eligible to participate.

Some web sites which purport to assist lottery applicants (and appear to be official sites) charge a fee. Applicants should apply only through the Department of State's web site, www.dvlottery.state.gov, which does not charge a fee.

Every applicant must have at least a high school education or its equivalent, or have two years of work experience during the last five years in an occupation requiring at least two years training or experience. The applicant must present proof of education or experience at the time of the government interview.

Visa Lottery Eligibility

Individuals born in all but 15 countries may apply for the DV-2006 lottery. Individuals born in countries that sent over 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the last five years are not eligible for the DV-2006 lottery. Below is a list of countries that are not participating this fiscal year:

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