DV Lottery 2027: Eligibility, Entry Steps, and Selection

The Diversity Visa Lottery for fiscal year 2027 will run on a different schedule than previous cycles. The Department of State has announced that the DV-2027 registration period will not open in early October as it usually does, and the start date will be announced separately once procedural changes are finalized.¹ If you’re planning to enter the DV Lottery 2027, the rules about who qualifies remain the same, but the timing, a new $1 registration fee, and other details are still being finalized, so the official travel.state.gov page is the only reliable source for the opening date.

What’s Different This Cycle

The State Department said it “will announce the start date for the DV-2027 registration period as soon as practicable,” along with the date on which selectees can check their results.¹ Once selectees are notified, the visa application period runs October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, which is unchanged from prior cycles.

A new fee also appears in the updated Schedule of Fees for Consular Services: a $1 DV lottery registration fee that didn’t exist in earlier program years. The $330 application fee that selectees pay later at their interview remains in place.²

The statutory cap remains 55,000 diversity visas per year, though other laws divert some of those to different programs. In practice, roughly 50,000 diversity visas are available in a typical year, and the number for DV-2027 could be somewhat lower.³

Who Qualifies to Enter

Eligibility comes down to two things: where you were born, and either your education or your work experience.

Country of Birth

You must be a native of a country classified as “low-admission,” meaning it has not sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years.⁴ Natives of high-admission countries are excluded, and the list shifts slightly each cycle. Because the DV-2027 instructions haven’t been released yet, check the official Diversity Visa Instructions page once registration is announced to confirm your country’s status.⁵

Born in an excluded country? You may still qualify through cross-chargeability. If your spouse was born in an eligible country and both of you are listed on the entry, you can be “charged” to their country. You may also claim a parent’s country of birth, provided neither parent was a resident of the high-admission country at the time you were born.⁶

Education or Work Experience

You need one of the following:

A high school education or its equivalent, defined as twelve years of successfully completed formal elementary and secondary schooling; or
At least two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation that itself requires at least two years of training or experience.⁷

The consular officer checks whether your occupation qualifies using the Department of Labor’s O*NET Online database, which groups jobs by preparation level. Occupations in Job Zone 4 or Job Zone 5 clearly clear the two-year bar; occupations in lower zones generally don’t, so you’d need to rely on the education path instead.⁸

How to Submit Your Entry

Entries are filed only online at dvprogram.state.gov during the registration window, using the E-DV Entry Form (DS-5501). There is no paper option and no legitimate third-party portal. The form asks for your full legal name as it appears on your passport, date and place of birth, gender, country of eligibility, contact details, and highest level of education achieved.

Listing Family Members

You must include your spouse and every unmarried child under 21 on the entry. That’s true even if a family member lives in a different country, doesn’t intend to immigrate, or already has U.S. citizenship or a green card. The only spouse you may leave off is one who is already a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. Leaving off a qualifying family member is one of the most costly mistakes in the DV process, because USCIS will generally deny the entire application, including derivatives, if anyone was omitted from the original entry.⁶

Photo Requirements

Each person listed on the entry needs a recent digital photograph meeting strict specifications: JPEG format, 240 kilobytes or smaller, square dimensions between 600 by 600 and 1200 by 1200 pixels, a plain white or off-white background, and taken within the past six months. Head coverings are not allowed unless worn daily for religious reasons. Filters, retouching that alters your appearance, or non-compliant backgrounds are grounds for disqualification.⁹

Save Your Confirmation Number

After you submit, the system displays a confirmation page with your name and a unique confirmation number. Save it immediately. Screenshot it, print it, email it to yourself. That number is the only way to check whether you were selected, and the State Department cannot retrieve it if you lose it.

One Entry Per Person

Each person may submit exactly one entry during the registration period. Submitting more than one disqualifies all of them, and the disqualification can be caught at any stage, including months later at your visa interview. A married couple can each file a separate entry as the principal, listing the other as a derivative, which effectively doubles the household’s chances. But the same individual cannot appear as principal on two entries.³

How Selection Works

The Kentucky Consular Center runs a randomized computer drawing from all valid entries. Being selected does not guarantee a visa. It means you are permitted to apply for one. The State Department deliberately selects more people than there are visas because many selectees won’t complete the process or won’t qualify at interview.

Each selectee gets a rank number that determines processing order. The Visa Bulletin publishes monthly cut-offs by region. If your rank number is below the cut-off for a given month, your visa is considered available and you can move forward. If it’s above, you wait. Numbers can run out before September 30, meaning some higher-ranked selectees will never get an interview.¹⁰ A low rank number is worth far more than selection alone.

Checking Results and Avoiding Scams

The only way to check your status is through the Entrant Status Check at dvprogram.state.gov using your confirmation number. The State Department has not yet announced when DV-2027 results will be posted, though in past cycles results appeared in early May of the following year.¹

The DV Lottery is one of the most heavily targeted immigration programs for fraud, and the State Department has reported an increase in fake emails and letters posing as official notifications.¹¹ A few rules will keep you safe:

The U.S. government does not send emails or letters notifying you that you won. You check results online.
The government never asks for payment by check, money order, or wire transfer. Fees are paid in person at the embassy or consulate at your interview.
Legitimate government websites end in “.gov.” Treat anything else as suspicious.
No “visa consultant” can improve your odds. The drawing is random, and anyone charging for an advantage is running a scam.

What Selectees Do Next

If you are selected, everything from that point moves toward completing your case before the September 30, 2027 fiscal year deadline. Missing a step or a deadline forfeits your opportunity, and diversity visas do not carry over to the next year.

File Form DS-260

The first step is filing Form DS-260, the online Immigrant Visa Application. It collects biographical information, travel and work history, education, family details, and security questions. Each family member applying for a visa files a separate DS-260. The Kentucky Consular Center reviews the forms for completeness before scheduling interviews.

Gather Documents

You’ll need originals, plus copies and translations where required, for every person applying. The State Department requires:¹²

A birth certificate showing date and place of birth and both parents’ names.
A passport valid at least six months beyond your intended travel date, with a photocopy of the biographic page.
Police certificates from every country where you lived after age 16, covering the full period of residence.
Certified court and prison records for any criminal history.
Military records if you served in any country’s armed forces.
Evidence of your education or qualifying work experience: diplomas, transcripts, employer letters.
Passport-style photographs meeting the same specifications as the original entry.

Medical Examination

Every applicant must complete a medical exam performed by a panel physician authorized by the U.S. embassy or consulate in your country. The exam includes a physical, mental health screening, and testing for tuberculosis, syphilis, and gonorrhea, plus proof of required vaccinations or the vaccinations themselves.¹³ Panel physician fees are unregulated and vary by location, so expect to pay several hundred dollars per person once the exam and any vaccinations are added up.

The Consular Interview

At the interview, a consular officer reviews your documents, verifies your qualifications against the education or work experience standard (potentially using O*NET), and decides whether you are admissible to the United States. A $330 non-refundable application fee per person is due at the interview.² The officer has full authority to deny the visa if a requirement is not met.

Financial Requirements

You must show you are not likely to become a “public charge.” Diversity visa winners are exempt from filing Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support that family-sponsored and most employment-based immigrants use.¹⁴ If you need a sponsor to satisfy the consular officer, you submit Form I-134, the Declaration of Financial Support, instead.

There is no fixed income threshold for DV cases like the 125% of federal poverty guidelines used for I-864. The consular officer weighs the totality of your circumstances: your income and job prospects, education and skills, a sponsor’s finances, your age and health, and whether you have concrete plans for supporting yourself. Strong evidence includes a U.S. job offer, savings, in-demand qualifications, and a credible sponsor with documented income and a genuine relationship with you.¹⁵

If You Are Already in the United States

Selectees who are lawfully present in the United States can apply for adjustment of status with USCIS instead of attending a consular interview abroad, by filing Form I-485. You need a visa immediately available (your rank number must be current in the Visa Bulletin) and you must be otherwise admissible.¹⁶ The package requires the same kinds of supporting documents as the consular route, along with Form I-693 medical results from a USCIS-authorized civil surgeon. The September 30 deadline applies either way: USCIS must approve your case before the fiscal year ends.

Children Who May Turn 21

DV cases can stretch across many months, and a child listed on the original entry may age past 21 before a visa is issued. The Child Status Protection Act provides a special calculation: the child’s age when a visa first becomes available to the principal applicant, minus the number of days the DV “petition” was pending.¹⁷ For DV cases, pending time runs from the first day entries could be submitted for that program year to the date selection notifications became available. A visa is considered available on the first day the principal’s rank number is current.¹⁸ If the calculation puts the child under 21, they still qualify as a derivative. The child must also remain unmarried; CSPA does not waive that.

The September 30, 2027 Deadline

Every DV-2027 visa must be issued, or every adjustment approved, by September 30, 2027. No extensions, no grace period, no rollover. Selectees with high rank numbers face the sharpest risk: if monthly cut-offs haven’t reached your number by late summer, or if visa numbers run out first, your selection expires no matter how qualified you are.¹⁰ Filing your DS-260 promptly, scheduling your medical exam early, and gathering documents in advance are the practical difference between finishing the process and running out of time.

1
U.S. Department of State. Changes to Entry Period for 2027 Diversity Visa (DV) Program
2
Federal Register. Schedule of Fees for Consular Services, Department of State and Overseas Embassies and Consulates
3
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 502.6 – Diversity Immigrant Visas
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1153 – Allocation of Immigrant Visas
5
U.S. Department of State. Diversity Visa Instructions
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part G Chapter 2 – Eligibility Requirements
7
U.S. Department of State. Diversity Visa Program – Confirm Your Qualifications
8
O*NET OnLine. O*NET OnLine Help: Job Zones
9
U.S. Department of State. Digital Image Requirements
10
U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for May 2026
11
U.S. Department of State. Fraud Warning
12
U.S. Department of State. Prepare Supporting Documents
13
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Technical Instructions for Panel Physicians
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-864 Instructions for Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
15
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 302.8 – Public Charge – INA 212(a)(4)
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card Through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)
18
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 502.1 – IV Classifications Overview