The United States Department of State has introduced
significant changes to the Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme, popular as green card
lottery, that will take effect in 2027.
The Department stated that the move is aimed at tightening
vetting procedures and reducing fraud.
Under the new regulations, all applicants will be required
to provide details from a valid, unexpired passport and upload a scan of the
passport’s biographic and signature page when submitting their electronic entry
form.
Applicants who do not meet this
requirement must indicate that they qualify for an exemption.
“The Department published a notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM), Visas: Enhancing Vetting and Combating Fraud in the Diversity
Immigrant Visa Program (90 FR 37437),
on August 5, 2025. The NPRM proposed requiring a DV Program petitioner to
provide valid, unexpired passport information and upload a scan of the
passport’s biographic and signature page to the electronic entry form or
otherwise indicate that he or she is exempt from this requirement,” the Department
said in a statement.
The rule, which took effect on April 10, 2026, marks a shift
from previous application procedures, where passport information was not
mandatory at the entry stage.
According to the Department of State, the changes are
intended to improve the integrity of the programme and address widespread fraud
that has historically plagued the lottery system.
Authorities said millions of fraudulent entries have been
recorded in recent years, including submissions made by third parties without
applicants’ knowledge.
In the 2025 programme alone, the Department identified 2.5
million fraudulent entries, many linked to organised schemes in which
intermediaries submitted applications on behalf of unsuspecting individuals and
later demanded payment to release confirmation details.
The new passport requirement is expected to make it harder
for such actors to file entries without an applicant’s consent, as access to
valid passport information and documentation is more restricted.
Officials said the requirement will also allow for earlier
identity verification, improving screening and vetting processes and
strengthening national security safeguards.
In addition to the passport rule, the Department has
introduced changes to standardise the language used in the programme’s regulations.
These include replacing the term “gender” with “sex” and
substituting “age” with “date of birth” to better reflect the data collected
during the visa process.
The regulations also incorporate the word “shall” to clarify
instructions for consular officers.
The updated rules will apply to entries submitted for the
FY2027 Diversity Visa Programme, which is administered annually and offers up
to 55,000 immigrant visas to individuals from countries with historically low
rates of immigration to the United States.
While the changes are expected to improve programme
integrity, they will also introduce additional costs and time requirements for
applicants. Individuals without passports will now need to obtain one before
applying.
The Department also revised the estimated time required to
complete an application, increasing it by an additional hour to account for
gathering passport details and uploading the required documents, bringing the
total estimated completion time to 90 minutes.
Despite these added requirements, officials said the changes
are not expected to significantly reduce participation among eligible
applicants, noting that those selected for the programme would ultimately need
a passport to proceed with their visa applications.
In October 2025, the United States introduced a $1 (Sh129)
registration fee for those applying for the Green Card lottery.
In a statement, the US Federal Register said the $1 fee
reflects the operational costs of running the annual DV lottery.
These include the annual review and update of the systems
required to collect the lottery form submissions, data storage, automated
randomised selection of lottery winners and associated security reviews.
The Diversity Visa application fee will continue to cover
all other costs associated with administering the Diversity Visa program.
The Federal Register said the Department will review the DV
fee in its next model update and adjust the DV application fee if and as needed
at that time.
It also stated that the move will more fairly place the burden
of the lottery registration on individuals seeking the benefit of gaining
access to the DV application process.
This is instead of charging only a small percentage of
successful registrants for the costs associated with administering the lottery
program for all registrants.
To effect this change to the DV program, the Department also
amended its regulations to note that an electronic registration fee will be
collected at the time of registration.
According to the Federal Register, the rule makes a change
to Item 33 of the Schedule of Fees by adding a $1 (Sh129) fee to register for
the DV lottery in addition to the $330 (Sh42, 570) Diversity Visa Application
fee.
The cost of managing the DV lottery historically has been
included in the Diversity Visa Application fee as authorised by law.
All participants must pay $1 when submitting their
electronic entry on the official U.S. government website.
The payment must be made through an authorised U.S.
government portal at the time of registration.
The $330 DV application fee for selected applicants remains
the same.
The registration fees will not be refunded, regardless of
lottery results or whether applicants move forward with a visa application.
The fees cannot be transferred between lottery years.
The DV Program is administered by the U.S. Department of
State (DOS).
Most lottery winners reside outside the United States and
immigrate through consular processing and issuance of an immigrant visa.
The Department is yet to announce dates for the 2027 applications.
This content is sourced from www.the-star.co.ke and is shared for informational purposes only.
