The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program — the "green card lottery" — is a random drawing that awards U.S. permanent residence to people born in countries with historically low immigration to the United States. Congress created it in 1990 as a path that runs on country of birth and luck rather than family ties or a job offer, making up to 55,000 green cards available each year (closer to 50,000 in practice after other programs take their share). It is free to enter apart from a $1 registration fee, is run only by the U.S. Department of State, and in 2026 is operating under a security review that has paused visa issuance while the program's registration timeline remains unsettled.
Status as of July 11, 2026. The program exists in law but its processing is largely paused. In December 2025, after a shooting at Brown University and the killing of an MIT professor by a suspect who had entered through the DV program, the State Department paused all diversity visa issuance and USCIS froze the in-country side (policy memo PM-602-0193): selectees may still file applications and attend interviews, but no diversity visas are being issued and no DV-based green card cases are being approved until the hold is lifted. A separate freeze on immigrant visas for nationals of some 75 countries, in place since January 2026, compounds this for applicants from several countries DV applicants often come from. The pauses are being challenged in federal court (Ivanov v. Trump), with plaintiffs seeking to force adjudication before the September 30, 2026 deadline. Meanwhile the DV-2027 registration was delayed from its usual October window; results for those who registered were released in May 2026, and their application period runs October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. DV-2028 registration is expected in fall 2026, though exact dates had not been announced. Because the program is set by federal statute, ending it outright would require Congress.
Who can enter the green card lottery
Two things decide eligibility, and both are checked before selection means anything. The first is country of birth — not citizenship, not where a person lives now. Each year the State Department excludes countries that sent 50,000 or more immigrants to the U.S. over the previous five years, on the theory that they are already well represented. For DV-2027 the excluded list included Mexico, China (mainland), India, the Philippines, Brazil, and Nigeria, among others; the United Kingdom, Macau, and Taiwan became eligible that cycle after their numbers dropped. The list shifts every year, so the authoritative version is the DV Instructions on travel.state.gov for the specific cycle.
The second is education or work experience: either a high school education or its equivalent (a completed 12-year course of primary and secondary education), or two years of qualifying work experience within the past five years in an occupation that normally requires at least two years of training. The State Department uses the Department of Labor's O*NET database to decide which occupations qualify. Applicants do not prove any of this when registering — it is verified later, at the visa interview, and failing to meet the threshold there ends the case.
How the lottery works, step by step in general
Registration opens for a limited window each cycle — historically early October to early November — on one official site, dvprogram.state.gov, and nowhere else. Entry is submitted electronically; there are no paper entries and no late entries. Two rules changed how entries are made starting with DV-2027: a $1 registration fee paid at the moment of entry (a final rule effective September 16, 2025 — before this, entry was entirely free), and a requirement to provide passport details and upload a scan of the passport's biographic and signature page (a final rule effective April 10, 2026). Only one entry per person is allowed — a second entry disqualifies the person.
Selection is a blind, random computer draw held at the Kentucky Consular Center, allocated across six geographic regions with no more than seven percent going to any single country. The State Department deliberately selects far more entrants than there are visas — roughly 125,000 to 150,000 to fill about 55,000 slots — because many selectees never complete the process. Results appear only through the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV site, using the confirmation number from the entry. The government does not notify anyone by email, letter, or phone.
Being selected is a chance to apply, not a visa. Selectees then pursue the green card one of two ways: consular processing (an immigrant visa interview abroad, the route for most winners), or adjustment of status (Form I-485, for those already living in the U.S. in a legal status). A separate $330 diversity visa application fee applies at that stage, for those who are selected. Both routes run against an absolute deadline — everything must be completed by September 30 of the program's fiscal year. Visas do not carry over; an unfinished case expires permanently.
The odds, in real numbers
The lottery draws enormous volume against a fixed ceiling. For DV-2026, the State Department received 20,822,624 qualified entries and selected about 129,516 people — roughly a 0.25% chance for a qualified applicant, before the further attrition of the visa stage. Selection is the first step of many, and the annual cap means more people are chosen than can ultimately receive a visa.
Scams follow the lottery — how the real thing works
Because millions enter and the prize is a green card, the DV program is a magnet for fraud. The core facts that defeat most scams: entry is free apart from the $1 government fee paid on the official site, the only registration site is dvprogram.state.gov, and the only way to learn of selection is the Entrant Status Check. Any email, letter, or call announcing a "win" and asking for payment or personal details is fraudulent. The State Department employs no outside consultants, and a paid "helper" gives an entry no better chance than one submitted directly. How to spot and report immigration fraud is covered separately in this section.
Is the green card lottery still happening in 2026?
The program legally exists, but issuance is paused. As of mid-2026, the State Department has stopped issuing diversity visas and USCIS has frozen final decisions on DV-based green card applications filed inside the U.S., pending a security and vetting review with no announced end date. People already selected in DV-2027 can still submit the DS-260 or file adjustment applications and attend interviews — the process moves through its steps — but visas and green card approvals are on hold. Because the program is established by federal statute, ending it outright would require Congress, and the pauses are already being challenged in court.
When does DV-2028 registration open?
Registration for DV-2028 is expected in the fall of 2026, following the program's usual pattern, but the State Department had not announced exact dates as of July 2026. The prior cycle, DV-2027, was itself delayed from its normal October window, so the timing this year is uncertain. The only reliable source for the opening date is the DV Instructions page on travel.state.gov — any site or agent claiming registration is open before it appears there is a scam.
I was selected in DV-2027 — what happens now?
DV-2027 selectees were notified through the Entrant Status Check in May 2026, and the application period runs from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027. The usual next step is completing the DS-260 immigrant visa application to be scheduled for a consular interview, or filing for adjustment of status for those living in the U.S. The 2026 issuance pause affects this group directly: cases can move through processing steps, but visas and green card approvals are on hold while the review continues. The September 30, 2027 deadline remains fixed regardless of the pause.
How many green cards does the lottery give out?
The law authorizes up to 55,000 diversity visas per year. The number actually available is usually lower — around 50,000 — because a separate program (NACARA) takes a portion off the top each year; for DV-2026 the effective ceiling was roughly 51,850. Those visas are spread across six world regions, with a larger share going to regions that send fewer immigrants and no more than seven percent to any one country.
Can I enter the lottery if I was born in an excluded country?
Possibly, through two exceptions to the country-of-birth rule. A person may be able to claim the country of birth of a spouse, or of a parent who was not a legal resident of the excluded country at the time of the person's birth. These are the only common alternatives, and eligibility is judged on the specific facts — the DV Instructions for each cycle spell out exactly how the alternate-country claim works.
Sources we track: USCIS, DHS, EOIR, the Federal Register, and federal courts.