DV Lottery 2027 Registration Opens November 1 — Dates, the New $1 Fee, Passport Rule and Photo Specs

The US Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery — the "Green Card Lottery" — has been paused since December 2025. That is about to change. A US federal court order issued on October 14, 2026 requires the State Department to open DV-2027 registration by November 1, 2026, and to keep it open for at least 30 days. An official announcement with the final dates is expected by October 29, 2026.

Here is what is known so far, what is only reported (not yet official), and how to get your entry — especially your photo — right the first time.

The key dates

Treat November 1 as the working date, but always confirm the final window on the only official entry site: dvprogram.state.gov.

Reported new requirements: $1 fee and a passport scan

News reports on the restarted program describe two changes this year:

1. A $1 entry fee — a small fee where entering used to be completely free.
2. A passport scan — applicants may need to upload a scan of a valid passport with the entry.

Both points are reported, not yet published in a final official announcement. Requirements can change between a court order and the official instructions, so check dvprogram.state.gov before you enter, and follow the instructions published there — not screenshots or social-media posts.

What has NOT changed: entering is something you do yourself

• Submitting your own entry on dvprogram.state.gov costs nothing beyond the reported $1 fee. There is no official agent, broker or "commission" system for the DV Lottery.
• Nobody can guarantee selection. Selection is a random draw. Anyone charging you for "guaranteed" selection, a "reserved slot" or a higher chance is running a scam.
• Never hand over your confirmation number. You receive it when you submit your entry, and you need it to check your result. Anyone who submits "for you" and keeps the number can hold your result hostage. Enter yourself, save the number yourself.
• A private service may legitimately help you prepare — for example checking your photo against the official specs — but the entry itself should always be submitted by you, on the official site.

DV photo specs (the part that rejects the most entries)

The photo is uploaded with your entry, and it is checked automatically. The requirements:

The most common failures are a head that is too small in the frame, a non-white background, and a file that is far over 240 KB straight from a phone camera.

You can check a photo against these rules before you enter with the free DV Lottery photo checker — it validates the size, dimensions and composition in your browser (nothing is uploaded) and can fix a photo to an exact 600×600 file. The full dates, rules and entry walkthrough are collected in the DV-2027 registration guide.

Pre-entry checklist

• [ ] Valid passport ready (scan may be required this year — confirm on dvprogram.state.gov)
• [ ] Photo: 600×600 px, JPEG, ≤ 240 KB, white background, taken within 6 months
• [ ] Head fills 50–69% of the photo height, no glasses, no filters
• [ ] Full names and dates of birth exactly as in official documents
• [ ] Spouse and ALL children under 21 listed, as the instructions require
• [ ] Entry submitted by you, on dvprogram.state.gov only
• [ ] Confirmation number saved by you, in more than one place
• [ ] One entry only — entering more than once disqualifies you

Prepare the photo and documents now, wait for the official announcement, and enter once, carefully, in the official window.

MakeHumanAI is a private tools website and is not affiliated with the US government or the State Department. Always confirm the final DV-2027 dates and requirements on dvprogram.state.gov before submitting.