The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program’s immigration visa procedure has been substantially modified by the United States. The new Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Program) rules published in the Federal Register on March 3, 2026, require a petitioner to provide valid, unexpired passport information and to upload a scan of the biographic and signature page in the electronic entry form or to otherwise indicate that he or she is exempt from this requirement. These new Diversity Immigrant Visa rules are effective from April 3, i.e., 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Additionally, the Department is standardizing and amending its regulations to add the word ‘shall’ to simplify guidance for consular officers; ensure the use of the term ‘sex’ instead of ‘gender’; and replace the term ‘age’ in the DV Program regulations with the phrase ‘date of birth’ to accurately reflect the information collected and maintained by the Department during the immigrant visa process.
The most important change is requiring the petitioner to provide valid, unexpired passport information and upload a scan of the passport’s biographic and signature page to the electronic entry form, in the immigrant visa process under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.
The electronic entry form collects information on the petitioner and his or her spouse and/or children. It also
requests the location of the consular post nearest to his or her residence, where the application for a DV should generally be adjudicated if the petitioner is selected and scheduled for an interview through the DV Program.
The passport requirements allow the Department to more effectively confirm petitioners’ identities earlier in the DV process, which facilitates screening and vetting and enhances the Department’s ability to protect U.S. national security.
US has seen millions of fraudulent entries in the DV Program, including 2.5 million in DV-2025. The frauds related to the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program involved unauthorized third parties, sometimes criminal enterprises, submitting entries on behalf of individuals without their consent, often demanding payment or participation in fraudulent activities in exchange for the application information.
DV Program Update
In December, the USCIS in an X post said that at the direction of President Trump and Secretary Noem, USCIS is immediately suspending its role in the Diversity Visa program to protect Americans from criminal foreigners. The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is also called the Green Card Lottery.
What is the DV Program
The DV Program is administered by the Department of State and makes diversity visas available to foreigners who are “natives” of “low-admission” states, subject to certain numerical limitations.
The rule defines “low-admission states” as those with equal to or fewer than 50,000 natives admitted to the United States during the most recent five-year period.
DV Program Lottery
Every year, millions of petitioners use an electronic entry form to register for the Diversity Visa Program lottery. Certain petitioners are chosen through a randomized computer drawing at the end of the DV Program admission period. Those chosen may apply for a DV or, if they are physically present in the United States and otherwise qualified, may apply to modify their status as a diversity immigrant.
Under section 201(e) of the INA, the number of available Diversity Visas each year is 55,000. Visa numbers made available to NACARA applicants in FY 2024 will result in a reduction of the DV-2025 annual limit to 54,894. Certain other amendments will further reduce the DV-2025 annual limit to 52,056. DVs are divided among six geographic regions. No one country can receive more than seven percent of the available diversity visas in any one year.