Online registration for the DV Lottery -2018 Program begins on Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and concludes on Monday, November 7, 2016 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-4).
DV Lottery – 2018 Program Instructions
Select the English version of the DV-2018 Program Instructions in PDF format for your convenience and required use. There may be instructions available in other languages, but the English language version is the only official version.
DV entries are accepted ONLY through the E-DV site: www.dvlottery.state.gov. There is no paper application. There is no fee to enter. Applicants should not send money or pay money in advance to any third party promising to help them win a Diversity Visa.
Applicants should enter their own information at www.dvlottery.state.gov and not rely on other people or agencies. Agents may make mistakes, leave information blank, or submit duplicate entries. All of these actions may disqualify an applicant, even after they have been selected as a lottery winner. It is important for the applicant to enter their own information and follow all instructions.
All applicants receive an immediate online confirmation number when they submit their entry. It is very important for applicants to keep this record of their unique confirmation number until at least September 30, 2018. The confirmation number is the only way to check whether an entry has been selected, or to obtain a visa application and appointment information, if selected. The unique confirmation number helps to protect DV entrants against fraud or malfeasance. Unscrupulous visa facilitators have been known to assist applicants with their entries, retain the confirmation page, and then demand more money in exchange for information on the entry. Applicants can avoid this by ensuring they receive and print out their confirmation number at the time of application entry.