Green Card Lottery (DV-2027): Is It Open? Latest Status and Scam Warnings

The DV-2027 green card lottery is not open. As of October 11, 2026, the State Department has not opened registration for DV-2027 or announced dates for DV-2028. The only official place to enter is the State Department’s own site, so anyone who says they can register you now, or “guarantee” a win, is not telling the truth.

Key points

• DV-2027 registration, which normally runs in October and November 2025, never opened. The State Department said in November 2025 that it was changing the entry process.
• Entering now costs $1 (rule effective September 16, 2025), and entrants must provide a valid passport (rule effective April 10, 2026).
• DV-2026 processing was paused from December 2025 until a federal court ordered it resumed for DV-2026 selectees on August 28, 2026. The DV-2026 year ended on September 30, 2026, with a short court-ordered extension.
• A lawsuit asking a court to force DV-2027 registration open was pending in October 2026. Nothing has changed for entrants yet.
• Scams are common. The official program is run only through the State Department’s site, dvprogram.state.gov.

What the Diversity Visa program is

The Diversity Immigrant Visa program (DV lottery) offers up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Winners are chosen at random from eligible entries. Being selected does not guarantee a visa. Selectees still have to meet the education or work-experience requirement, pass background checks, and be approved before the fiscal year ends (State Department).

In a normal year, registration opens in early October and closes in early November. Results come out the following May, and selectees can be issued visas from October 1 of the next year until September 30. For DV-2027, that issuance window would be October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027.

DV-2027: why registration never opened

In early November 2025, the State Department posted a notice called “Changes to Entry Period for 2027 Diversity Visa (DV) Program.” It said the department was “implementing certain changes” to the entry process. It also said it would announce the DV-2027 registration dates “as soon as practicable” (State Department notice).

No registration period followed. As of October 11, 2026:

Item	Status (Oct 11, 2026)
DV-2027 registration	Never opened. No dates announced
DV-2027 visa window	Was set as Oct 1, 2026 to Sept 30, 2027, but nobody has been selected
DV-2028 registration	No dates announced
Court challenge to the DV-2027 delay	Pending. News reports said a federal judge expected to rule around mid-October 2026

The government has argued in court that the registration period has to happen in the fiscal year before visas become available, so the deadline for DV-2027 may already have passed. If a court disagrees, the program could restart, but there is no official word on that yet. Check the State Department DV page and our updates page for changes.

New entry rules you should know about

Two rule changes will apply whenever registration reopens.

The $1 registration fee

Entry used to be free. A State Department final rule published and effective September 16, 2025 created a $1 registration fee, paid electronically by every entrant when registering (Federal Register 2025-17851). The same rule keeps the $330 DV application fee, which only selectees pay, per person, before their visa interview.

The passport requirement

A final rule published March 11, 2026 and effective April 10, 2026 requires entrants to give the details of a valid, unexpired passport and upload a scan of the passport’s biographic and signature page, unless they qualify for an exemption. If you plan to enter, get or renew your passport early.

What happened to DV-2026 selectees

DV-2026 selectees had a hard year.

1. December 19-20, 2025: USCIS put a hold on DV-based green card applications filed inside the US (policy memo PM-602-0193). The State Department paused issuing diversity visas. Interviews could still happen, but no visas were issued.
2. January 21, 2026: The State Department also paused immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries, which affected many DV selectees.
3. August 21, 2026: A federal court in New York vacated the 75-country pause.
4. August 28, 2026: In Medani v. Trump, a federal court in the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction for a class made up of FY-2026 DV selectees and their family members. It temporarily set aside the USCIS hold, the State Department DV pause, and the 75-country pause. It ordered the agencies to resume processing in good faith “to the extent practicable” for the rest of the fiscal year (court order). USCIS said it “strongly disagrees” with the order but would follow it.
5. September 30, 2026: The DV-2026 fiscal year ended. The judge found the State Department’s compliance had been “less than substantial” and ordered it to keep processing DV cases for 10 more days. The judge declined to reserve unused visas for issuance after that.

The law does not let diversity visas carry over. USCIS states that DV adjustment of status “must be completed by September 30” and that visas “cannot be carried over to the next fiscal year” (USCIS). If you were a DV-2026 selectee and your case was not approved in time, speak to a licensed immigration lawyer about whether any litigation covers you. Do not rely on social media posts.

How to avoid green card lottery scams

The DV program attracts fraud every year. The confusion around DV-2027 has made it worse. Protect yourself with these rules:

• Only one official website. Entries are made only at dvprogram.state.gov, a .gov website. The State Department does not use agents, and it does not email or text winners.
• Results are only on the official site. Selectees find out by checking Entrant Status Check with their confirmation number. If an email or letter says you won, it is fake.
• The fees are small and fixed. The fee is $1 to register and $330 per person for selectees at the visa stage. No one can sell you a “better chance.”
• No one can enter during a closed period. Right now, any website that takes your entry for DV-2027 is not official.
• Keep your confirmation number private. Some “consultants” enter for people and keep the confirmation number, then demand money later.
• Report fraud. You can report scams to the US Federal Trade Commission or to the US embassy in your country.

Other green card routes to consider

The DV lottery is only one path, and an uncertain one right now. Depending on your situation, other routes may be worth reading about:

• Family sponsorship by a US citizen or permanent resident. See our guide to sponsoring parents, siblings and adult children.
• Employment-based green cards. See EB-1 vs EB-2 vs EB-3, including the self-petition EB-2 NIW.
• Check whether your country is affected by the 2026 travel ban. The ban suspends most immigrant visas, including DV visas, for nationals of the listed countries unless an exception applies.

For an overview of all US routes, see our United States hub.

What to do next

1. Bookmark the official State Department DV page and check it rather than social media for DV-2027 or DV-2028 news.
2. Make sure you have a valid passport, since the 2026 rule requires one to enter.
3. Check that you meet the education requirement (a high school education or its equivalent) or the work-experience requirement before you enter.
4. Ignore anyone offering paid DV registration while the program is closed.
5. If you were a DV-2026 selectee whose case was not finished, talk to a licensed immigration lawyer about the Medani litigation and any appeal.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Status checked October 11, 2026.