The State Department has finally clarified what will happen next with the green card lottery.

U.S. Department of State published an official document, explaining the reasons for the delay of the Diversity Visa program in 2025. The new regulations introduce additional requirements for documents and proof of identity, writes Eiglaw.

The good news is that DV-2027 will happen. The application period hasn't been announced yet, but it's definitely expected to be in fiscal year 2026, or by September 30, 2026.

The not-so-good news is that the new lottery rules have made the registration process a bit more complicated.

Major change: Mandatory passport scanning for all applicants

Under the new rule, each DV program participant must:

• provide details of your valid passport for travel abroad at the time of registration;
• Upload a JPEG scan of your passport's biographical page and signature page when submitting your electronic application (Form DS-5501).

However, stateless persons, citizens of communist countries where the government does not issue foreign passports, and certain individuals on an individual basis may not attach a scanned document to their application.

On the subject: Six Ways to Lose Your Green Card and How to Avoid It

The State Department claims this requirement is necessary to prevent widespread fraud in the DV program, specifically unauthorized third-party submissions. Fraudsters typically registered people without their consent and, in the event of a win, extorted up to $15,000 for a Confirmation Number, which was required to use the winnings.

In fiscal year 2025 alone, the State Department identified 2,5 million fraudulent DV entries. Now, the agency will begin implementing the new rule with the start of the DV-2027 program.

Participation fee

If you remember, a $1 registration fee for participating in the DV program was introduced in September. The system has already been changed, and this fee will be applied to DV-2027 participants.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York

Additional changes

In addition, the new rule also introduces several technical changes:

• The time for filling out an application has been increased from 30 to 90 minutes, as additional time will be required to upload the scan and pay the fee;
• the word "gender" is replaced by the word "sex" in accordance with Executive Order 14168;
• The word "age" is replaced by the expression "date of birth" to match the actual data collected.

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