Status note: This guide reflects publicly reported rules as of September 2026. Immigration policy is changing quickly and some rules are being challenged in court. Always confirm with official sources or an immigration attorney before acting.
The Diversity Visa lottery, often called the green card lottery, offers up to 55,000 immigrant visas a year to people from countries with lower immigration to the US. Its schedule has been disrupted.
What happened to DV-2027:
DV-2027 registration was delayed in late 2025 and never opened. As a result, the visa year that begins October 1, 2026 has no DV-2027 selectees.
DV-2028 dates:
As of mid-September 2026, the State Department had not published opening or closing dates for DV-2028. Past lotteries often opened in October, but that pattern is not an official announcement.
New entry rules:
- A valid, unexpired passport is required, with a scan of the photo page
- A $1 fee applies to the next entry
- Only one entry per person; duplicates are disqualified
Avoid scams:
The only official site is dvprogram.state.gov. Results are checked only through its Entrant Status Check. Emails or sites promising selection or charging “processing” fees are scams.
