The DV-2027 Green Card Lottery is the drawing of immigrant visas under the Diversity Visa Program (Diversity Immigrant Visa Program) for U.S. fiscal year 2027. Below: what the lottery is, how many visas are drawn, which countries take part, when registration opens and results are published, what happens after you are selected, and the current state of the program.

In brief

  • DV-2027 draws up to 55,000 U.S. immigrant visas among nationals of countries with low rates of immigration; selection is random, and entries are filed only at dvprogram.state.gov.
  • New this cycle: a $1 fee and a mandatory passport scan at entry (effective April 10, 2026).
  • Status as of July 2026: registration did not open on the usual schedule and the program went through a suspension — official dates only at travel.state.gov.

Current status as of July 2026. DV-2027 registration did not open on the usual schedule (October 2025) and was postponed. In December 2025 the Diversity Visa Program was suspended administratively; some of the restrictions are being challenged in court. The U.S. Department of State said it would announce the registration start date and the results-access date "as soon as practicable." Check status only on official resources: travel.state.gov and dvprogram.state.gov. Details are in the "Current status of DV-2027" section.

Contents

What a green card and the DV lottery are

A green card is a U.S. lawful permanent resident card that grants the right to live and work in the country permanently, with no time limit.

The green card lottery is the informal name for the Diversity Visa (DV) program. Each year it allocates permanent-resident visas to nationals of countries with historically low immigration to the United States. Unlike the family- and employment-based categories, which require a sponsor (a relative or an employer), the DV distributes visas by random computer selection among all correctly submitted entries.

Key features:

  • Entry has historically been free; starting with the DV-2027 cycle, a nominal $1 fee applies at entry (see below).
  • Entries are accepted electronically only, on the official website. Paper entries are not accepted.
  • Winning the lottery is the right to apply for a visa, not the automatic issuance of a green card.

A short history

The program was created by the Immigration Act of 1990. Its aim was to "diversify" the immigrant flow by giving a chance to people from countries underrepresented in the family- and employment-based categories. The first drawings under the modern format took place in the mid-1990s. The lottery has been held annually ever since and remains a program established by statute (by Congress) — it can be abolished only through legislation.

How many green cards are drawn each year

By law, up to 55,000 visas are available under the DV each year. In some years a portion may be reserved for other programs (under NACARA), which at times brought the effective number closer to 50,000.

How the visas are distributed:

  • The world is divided into six geographic regions. More visas go to regions with lower immigration to the United States.
  • A rule of no more than 7% of all DV visas per country per year applies, so that no single country takes a disproportionate share.
  • The State Department selects more applicants than there are visas (usually around 100,000+), because some selectees do not complete the process. This is done to use up all available visas.

That is why selection is only the first step: obtaining a visa also depends on whether your rank number is reached for processing during the fiscal year.

Which countries take part in DV-2027 and how the list rotates

The list of countries is revised every year. The logic is simple:

  • The State Department looks at how many immigrants a country sent to the United States over the previous 5 years.
  • If a country sent 50,000 or more immigrants in that period, it is considered "well represented" and is excluded from the current drawing.
  • All other countries take part.

Because of this, the lists change: a country may "drop out" after high immigration and, conversely, return once its numbers fall below the threshold.

An important nuance — eligibility is determined by country of birth, not current citizenship or country of residence. If you were born in a country that is not participating this year, but your spouse was born in an eligible country, you may claim eligibility through your spouse's country of birth (alternate chargeability). There is also a rule based on a parent's country of birth.

(DV-2026 list, for reference only — not the DV-2027 list.) In recent drawings (using the official DV-2026 instructions as a reference), the countries not participating were generally: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland and Hong Kong), Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), the United Kingdom (mainland — status has varied by year), Venezuela, and Vietnam. Hong Kong was excluded, while Macau and Taiwan took part.

The exact official country list for DV-2027 is published together with the drawing instructions. Until DV-2027 registration opens, the official list has not been published — rely on the instructions at travel.state.gov once they are released.

Eligibility requirements

For an entry to be valid, you need:

  1. Country of birth — among those participating this year (or use alternate chargeability).
  2. Education or work experience — at least one of the two:
  3. a completed secondary education (the equivalent of 12 years of schooling), or
  4. 2 years of work experience within the last 5 years in an occupation requiring at least 2 years of training/experience. Whether an occupation qualifies is checked against the O*NET Online database (onetonline.org) — the DV instructions specify which Job Zone / SVP levels qualify.
  5. A photo that meets the standard — recent (taken within 6 months), white background, no glasses or headwear (except religious), neutral expression, 600×600 pixels. Reusing last year's photo or failing the requirements means disqualification.
  6. One entry per person. Multiple entries by the same person mean disqualification. Spouses may each submit their own entry.
  7. The entry must list your spouse and all unmarried children under 21, even if they do not plan to immigrate. Omitting them is grounds for refusal.

New for DV-2027. Under the final rule effective April 10, 2026, at entry you must:

  • upload a scan of the passport biographic page (a valid passport, as an image file such as JPEG — not a PDF) — with limited exceptions for stateless persons and nationals of certain countries who lack passport access;
  • pay a $1 electronic fee at entry (the first such fee in the program's history).

When DV-2027 registration takes place: the calendar

The program's name reflects the U.S. fiscal year in which the visas are issued, not the year of entry. Fiscal year 2027 runs from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027.

The standard (typical) calendar of any DV cycle looks like this:

Stage Usual timing for the DV-2027 cycle
Registration (entry) October–November (normally fall 2025)
Results (Entrant Status Check) usually in May of the following year (normally May 2026)
Visa applications and interviews for selectees October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027
Deadline to issue all DV-2027 visas September 30, 2027 (no extensions)

Note: the visa-issuance window for selectees (October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027) is fixed by law and does not move, even if registration is delayed. The later registration opens, the tighter the schedule becomes for future selectees.

Current status of DV-2027

The DV-2027 cycle is following an atypical course. What is known as of July 2026:

  • Registration delay. On November 5, 2025 the State Department announced changes to the entry process and the postponement of the DV-2027 start beyond the usual October. Exact registration dates and the results-access date were not announced.
  • Program suspension. On December 18–19, 2025 the administration suspended the Diversity Visa Program: USCIS placed adjustment-of-status applications from DV entrants on hold, and the State Department suspended issuance of diversity visas as of December 23, 2025. The stated reason was a review of vetting procedures after a high-profile incident involving a person who had previously entered on a DV. Interviews could be scheduled, but visas were not issued.
  • DV-2026 selectees "frozen." About 129,000 DV-2026 selectees were left in limbo against the hard September 30, 2026 deadline: unused visa numbers expire by law and do not carry over.
  • Litigation. Selectees filed class actions (notably Ivanov v. Trump in the District of Columbia, along with later group suits) seeking to resume processing before the deadline. Suspensions tied to "high-risk" countries were challenged separately. Courts found some administrative measures unlawful and vacated them; the situation continues to change.

The practical takeaway: as of publication, neither the schedule nor even the fact that a normal DV-2027 drawing will take place is confirmed by official dates. The only reliable source of information is the news section and program page at travel.state.gov. Any website or person promising that "DV-2027 registration is already open" or a "guaranteed win" is a scam.

Where to register and check results

  • Filing an entry and checking results: https://dvprogram.state.gov — the only official site for the electronic entry (Form E-DV, officially DS-5501) and for status checks (Entrant Status Check). The entry window is active only on the announced dates; the deadline is stated in U.S. Eastern Time.
  • Instructions, country list, program news: https://travel.state.gov (the Diversity Visa Program section and the visa news section).
  • Visa Bulletin (rank numbers and whether they are "current"): published monthly at travel.state.gov.

The official domain is .gov. Sites on .com/.org and any "expediters" or "guaranteed" intermediaries have nothing to do with the program: selection is entirely random and cannot be influenced. The State Department does not notify winners by email, mail, or phone.

How to check green card lottery results

The only way to learn your result is the Entrant Status Check (ESC) at dvprogram.state.gov. You need your confirmation number (16 characters), issued at entry, plus your last name and date of birth.

  • Results usually open in May and remain available until September 30 of the relevant fiscal year.
  • The confirmation number must be saved — without it you cannot check your status, and recovery is limited.
  • "Selected" means the right to apply for a visa, but does not guarantee you will receive one: it all depends on your rank number and visa availability in your region.

What to do after you win: step by step

If your ESC status is "selected," the sequence is:

  1. Get your case number and instructions in the Entrant Status Check.
  2. Complete Form DS-260 (Online Immigrant Visa Application) in the CEAC system — for yourself and each family member on the case. The data must match the E-DV entry: discrepancies are grounds for refusal. All DV cases are processed by the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC), which requests missing information and schedules the interview queue.
  3. Gather documents: birth certificates, police certificates from countries of residence, and, where applicable, court and military records and education/experience documents.
  4. Pay the DV fee — $330 per applicant (separate from the $1 entry fee), usually before the interview.
  5. Complete the medical exam with an authorized panel physician in your country.
  6. Track the Visa Bulletin. Processing goes by rank number: the interview is scheduled when your number becomes "current."
  7. Interview: for those outside the U.S., at the consulate/embassy in their place of residence. For those lawfully present in the U.S., adjustment of status via Form I-485 is possible.
  8. Visa/green card: if approved, an immigrant visa is placed in the passport; the green card is issued after entry into the U.S.

The consular interview: what to keep in mind

  • The interview checks identity, documents, and eligibility (education/experience, absence of grounds of inadmissibility).
  • Bring originals and translations of documents, passports for all family members, medical-exam results, and proof of fee payment.
  • All family members included on the case usually interview together.
  • The outcome can be: approval, a request for additional documents (administrative processing), or refusal.

Common applicant mistakes

These most often cause an entry to be rejected or a chance to be lost:

  • Two or more entries for one person — automatic disqualification. Spouses may each submit one entry, but not multiple for one person.
  • A non-compliant photo — old, edited, or with the wrong background or size. One of the most common reasons for refusal.
  • Wrong country of eligibility — listing the country of residence instead of the country of birth; or failing to use eligibility through a spouse's/parent's country of birth when applicable.
  • Discrepancies between the E-DV and DS-260 — data on the post-selection form must match the original entry.
  • A lost confirmation number — without it you cannot check the result, and the State Department does not recover it.
  • Paying a "guaranteed" intermediary — random selection cannot be influenced; this is either wasted money or fraud with your data.

The deadline and why it is hard

All visas for a given DV cycle must be issued by midnight on September 30 of the relevant fiscal year (for DV-2027, September 30, 2027). After that date:

  • unused visa numbers expire;
  • there are no extensions or carryovers;
  • if a case number is not reached in time or the process is not completed, the right to the visa is lost.

That is why, in normal years, selectees are advised to file the DS-260 and gather documents as early as possible: the lower (earlier) your number is processed, the more time you have in reserve.

DV-2028: the next opportunity

Registration for each following cycle usually opens in the fall. If you are looking ahead, the next regular cycle after DV-2027 is DV-2028 (visas in fiscal year 2028, October 1, 2027 – September 30, 2028). Exact dates, the country list, and requirements are published in the instructions at travel.state.gov before registration opens. Given the new rules (passport at entry, electronic fee), it makes sense to have a valid passport and a compliant photo ready in advance.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Is DV-2027 registration open now? As of publication, official DV-2027 registration dates are not confirmed, and the program was going through a suspension. Current status is only at travel.state.gov.

How many visas are drawn? Up to 55,000 per year; in some years the effective number is closer to 50,000. No more than 7% per country.

How much does entry cost? Entry is free, but for DV-2027 a $1 electronic fee was introduced at registration. If you win, the DV visa fee is $330 per applicant.

How is the country of eligibility determined? By country of birth. If it is not participating, you may use the country of birth of a spouse or parent (alternate chargeability).

How are winners notified? Only through the Entrant Status Check at dvprogram.state.gov, using the confirmation number. There are no notifications by email, mail, or phone.

Does winning guarantee a green card? No. Selection gives the right to apply for a visa; issuance depends on the rank number, visa availability, and passing the checks within the fiscal year.

Can an intermediary improve my chances? No. Selection is random and cannot be influenced. Paid "guarantees" are a sign of fraud.

Is a passport required to enter? For DV-2027, yes: you must upload a scan of the passport data page (with limited exceptions).

Official sources

Resource Purpose
travel.state.gov Overview of the Diversity Visa Program
DV Instructions Instructions and country list for a given year
dvprogram.state.gov Filing an entry (E-DV) and checking results (Entrant Status Check)
ceac.state.gov Form DS-260 after selection
usembassy.gov Consulate for the interview
Visa News News and updates on DV-2027
Visa Bulletin Rank numbers and whether they are "current"

This material is for information only and reflects the situation as of July 2026. The DV-2027 program is in flux — verify with official U.S. Department of State sources before acting.