A total of 75 Latvian citizens have won a chance to apply for U.S. permanent resident visas under the 2008 diversity lottery, a State Department spokesman announced Nov. 30.

In all, 96,000 people have been notified they can apply for one of the 50,000 permanent resident visas, also known as “green cards.” About 6.4 million people applied to the diversity lottery.

The number of Latvian citizens approved is the same as last year. A total of 97 Latvian applications were approved in 2006, 158 were approved in 2005 and 172 were approved in 2004.

Thirty-seven applications from Estonian citizens and 334 from Lithuanians were approved under the 2008 program.

The application period for the 2009 diversity lottery ended Dec. 2.

Further information on the program is available by visiting dvlottery.state.gov.