The online registration period for entering the 2011 Diversity Visa lottery begins at noon, Eastern Daylight Time, Friday, October 2 and ends at noon, Eastern Standard Time, Monday, November 30. Individuals interested in applying for the DV-2011 program and being considered for permanent residency in the U.S. through the program should apply for the lottery on Form DS-5501, the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form, during this open registration period. The form can be accessed online at www.dvlottery.state.gov. Paper entries will not be allowed.

The Diversity Visa program makes available visas to people that meet the program’s simple requirements for eligibility, including being a native of a country whose natives qualify for the program and meeting either the education or work experience requirement of the lottery program (a high school education or its equivalent OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform).

A maximum of 55,000 visas will be distributed among six geographic regions, with more visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration. Visas are not available to nationals of any country that has sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the last five years. Further, within each geographic region, no one country can receive more than seven percent of the available visas in any one year.

For the 2011 Diversity Visa lottery program, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply:

Brazil, Canada, China (Mainland-Born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, South Korea, United Kingdom (Except Northern Ireland) and its Dependent Territories, and Vietnam.

Please note that people born in Hong Kong Sar, Macau Sar ad Taiwan are eligible for this year’s program.