The Department of State has announced the rules and process to register for this year's "Diversity Visa" program, which is literally a lottery for 50,000 green cards. Anyone can register UNLESS the registrant AND spouse were born in one of the following countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born, i.e., NOT including Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan), 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.
Registrations must be filed online directly on the State Department web site between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Wednesday, October 1, 2014, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Monday, November 3, 2014.