REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY

• To enter the DV lottery, you must be a native of one of the listed countries.
  See List Of Countries By Region Whose Natives Qualify.
  
• Native of a country whose natives qualify: In most cases this means the country in which you were born. However, there are two other ways you may be able to qualify.
  First, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible but your spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible, you can claim your spouse’s country of birth provided both you and your spouse are on the selected entry, are issued visas and enter the U.S. simultaneously.
  Second, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but neither of your parents was born there or resided there at the time of your birth, you may claim nativity in one of your parents’ country of birth if it is a country whose natives qualify for the DV-2009 program.
  
• To enter the lottery, you must meet either the education or work experience requirement of the DV program.
  Education or Work Experience: You must have EITHER a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform. The U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net OnLine database will be used to determine qualifying work experience. For more information about qualifying work experience, see Frequently Asked Question #13.
  
• If you cannot meet these requirements, you should NOT submit an entry to the DV program.

Source of Info: US Department of State - Bureau of Consular Affairs