[author: Jenna Stras Baranko]

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program permits natives from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States to apply for one of 50,000 diversity visas for fiscal year 2016.  Applicants must meet strict eligibility requirements in order to qualify for the program and, if met, applicants will then be entered into a lottery.  The randomly-selected computer drawing selects applications among six geographic regions, with no single country receiving more than seven percent of the visas.

For 2016, people born in the following countries are ineligible to apply, due to over 50,000 natives immigrating to the United States within the last five years:

- Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

Applicants must submit their entries to www.dvlottery.state.gov between Wednesday, October 1, 2014 and Monday, November 3, 2014.  There is no cost for entry into the diversity visa program.

For more information, please visit http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/diversity-visa/instructions.html.

Jenna is an Intern with the firm and is not a practicing attorney.