The state department has launched the 2006 Diversity Visa Lottery, a programme by which 50,000 permanent resident visas are issued annually to individuals from countries with low levels of immigration to the United States, but India does not find a place in the list of eligible nations.
Both India and Pakistan are among countries, which have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the US in the last five years.
Other countries, which cannot participate in the lottery, are Canada, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, United Kingdom and Vietnam.
Persons born in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are eligible for the programme.
The registration period, which began on Friday, ends on January 7. A website -- www.dvlottery.state.gov -- has been set up for registration.
The state department has said demand has been high and the website has tripled the number of servers 'in response to demand'.
