Registration for the 2013 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery will begin at noon on October 4, 2011. Entries for the DV-2013 DV programme must be submitted electronically between noon, Tuesday, October 4, 2011, and noon, Saturday, November 5, 2011. Applicants may access the electronic DV Entry Form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. The Embassy encourages applicants not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon, November 5, 2011. The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme makes available up to 55,000 diversity visas (DVs) annually. Successful DV entrants must be eligible to receive a visa by qualifying based on education, work, and other requirements. The law and regulations require that every DV entrant must have at least: A high school education or its equivalent; or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years' training or experience. The U.S. Embassy in Accra wishes to emphasize that application for the U.S. Diversity Visa is free. The Embassy does not endorse the use of visa brokers or services when applying for U.S. Diversity Visa lottery programme. The Department is aware that websites and email have masqueraded as official Diversity Visa Lottery facilitators. Registration for the Diversity Visa Lottery through the official, U.S. government website, www.dvlottery.state.gov is free of charge. The Embassy does not endorse the use of visa brokers or services when applying for U.S. Diversity Visa lottery programme. The best way to avoid falling victim to scams related to the Diversity Visa Lottery is to understand how the results of the lottery are released: Starting in July 2012, all entrants can check the status of their entry through the Entry Status Check on the E-DV website www.dvlottery.state.gov. Entry Status Check is the ONLY means by which lottery winners/selectees will be notified of their selection for DV-2013. For more information on DV 2013, go to the embassy website at Ghana.usembassy.state.gov or the State Department web site at travel.state.gov.