Within the framework of this program, designed to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the United States, permanent residence visas are distributed among citizens of those countries from which immigration to the United States has traditionally been small. Persons wishing to participate in the lottery must register on a special website (www.dvlottery.state.gov) during the registration period - from October 5 to December 4. Registration is free. According to a statement from the US State Department, it plans to issue 50,000 permanent residence visas.
Due to growing demand, the State Department this year tripled the number of servers hosting the registration website. In addition, persons registering for DV-2007 will receive a registration notification indicating their first and last name, date of birth, country from which they are applying, as well as the time and date of registration after the information they have submitted has been properly processed on the program's website.
The State Department urges citizens wishing to participate in the 2007 visa lottery to submit their information as soon as possible, but in any case within the two-month registration period.
There is no fee for participating in the visa lottery. The State Department does not approve, recommend, or support the use of any information or materials from external sources. The State Department is aware that some websites and email servers pose as official partners of the visa lottery. It is noted that registration for the lottery through the official US government website is free, and winner notifications are sent only by mail.
The 2007 visa lottery for immigrants of diverse nationalities is already the third lottery requiring electronic registration. Applications printed on paper and sent by regular mail are not accepted.
At the moment the site is not working - it will become available for viewing with the beginning of the registration period, which will start on October 5 and last until December 4, 2005.
This year, natives of Russia and Poland are not eligible to participate in DV-2007 - from these countries, over 50,000 immigrants have arrived in the United States over the past five years.