Permanent Resident Card
The United States Department of State has introduced significant changes to the Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme, popular as green card lottery, that will take effect in 2027.
The Department stated that the move is aimed at tightening vetting procedures and reducing fraud.
Under the new regulations, all applicants will be required to provide details from a valid, unexpired passport and upload a scan of the passport’s biographic and signature page when submitting their electronic entry form.
Applicants who do not meet this requirement must indicate that they qualify for an exemption.
“The Department published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), Visas: Enhancing Vetting and Combating Fraud in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (90 FR 37437), on August 5, 2025. The NPRM proposed requiring a DV Program petitioner to provide valid, unexpired passport information and upload a scan of the passport’s biographic and signature page to the electronic entry form or otherwise indicate that he or she is exempt from this requirement,” the Department said in a statement.
The rule, which took effect on April 10, 2026, marks a shift from previous application procedures, where passport information was not mandatory at the entry stage.
According to the Department of State, the changes are intended to improve the integrity of the programme and address widespread fraud that has historically plagued the lottery system.
Authorities said millions of fraudulent entries have been recorded in recent years, including submissions made by third parties without applicants’ knowledge.
In the 2025 programme alone, the Department identified 2.5 million fraudulent entries, many linked to organised schemes in which intermediaries submitted applications on behalf of unsuspecting individuals and later demanded payment to release confirmation details.
The new passport requirement is expected to make it harder for such actors to file entries without an applicant’s consent, as access to valid passport information and documentation is more restricted.
Officials said the requirement will also allow for earlier identity verification, improving screening and vetting processes and strengthening national security safeguards.
In addition to the passport rule, the Department has introduced changes to standardise the language used in the programme’s regulations.
These include replacing the term “gender” with “sex” and substituting “age” with “date of birth” to better reflect the data collected during the visa process.
The regulations also incorporate the word “shall” to clarify instructions for consular officers.
The updated rules will apply to entries submitted for the FY2027 Diversity Visa Programme, which is administered annually and offers up to 55,000 immigrant visas to individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.
While the changes are expected to improve programme integrity, they will also introduce additional costs and time requirements for applicants. Individuals without passports will now need to obtain one before applying.
The Department also revised the estimated time required to complete an application, increasing it by an additional hour to account for gathering passport details and uploading the required documents, bringing the total estimated completion time to 90 minutes.
Despite these added requirements, officials said the changes are not expected to significantly reduce participation among eligible applicants, noting that those selected for the programme would ultimately need a passport to proceed with their visa applications.
In October 2025, the United States introduced a $1 (Sh129) registration fee for those applying for the Green Card lottery.
In a statement, the US Federal Register said the $1 fee reflects the operational costs of running the annual DV lottery.
These include the annual review and update of the systems required to collect the lottery form submissions, data storage, automated randomised selection of lottery winners and associated security reviews.
The Diversity Visa application fee will continue to cover all other costs associated with administering the Diversity Visa program.
The Federal Register said the Department will review the DV fee in its next model update and adjust the DV application fee if and as needed at that time.
It also stated that the move will more fairly place the burden of the lottery registration on individuals seeking the benefit of gaining access to the DV application process.
This is instead of charging only a small percentage of successful registrants for the costs associated with administering the lottery program for all registrants.
To effect this change to the DV program, the Department also amended its regulations to note that an electronic registration fee will be collected at the time of registration.
According to the Federal Register, the rule makes a change to Item 33 of the Schedule of Fees by adding a $1 (Sh129) fee to register for the DV lottery in addition to the $330 (Sh42, 570) Diversity Visa Application fee.
The cost of managing the DV lottery historically has been included in the Diversity Visa Application fee as authorised by law.
All participants must pay $1 when submitting their electronic entry on the official U.S. government website.
The payment must be made through an authorised U.S. government portal at the time of registration.
The $330 DV application fee for selected applicants remains the same.
The registration fees will not be refunded, regardless of lottery results or whether applicants move forward with a visa application.
The fees cannot be transferred between lottery years.
The DV Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State (DOS).
Most lottery winners reside outside the United States and immigrate through consular processing and issuance of an immigrant visa.
The Department is yet to announce dates for the 2027 applications.