US brings back passport requirement for Green Card Lottery applicants

All entrants must upload a passport scan when submitting their application, starting with the DV-2027 entry period

The US Department of State is bringing back a passport requirement for the Diversity Visa (Green Card Lottery) Program. Under a final rule released for public inspection on March 10, 2026, applicants must provide information from a valid, unexpired passport and upload a scan of the passport's biographic and signature pages when submitting their entry.

The regulation takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and will apply starting with the DV-2027 entry period.

A passport requirement was briefly in place in the past but was struck down in E.B. v. Department of State after a federal court found the government had not followed proper rulemaking procedures when adopting the earlier version.

The Diversity Visa Program makes up to 55,000 immigrant visas available each year to people from countries with relatively low levels of immigration to the United States.

Why the requirement is returning

The Department of State says the change is necessary to reduce fraud and strengthen screening by making it easier to verify an applicant's identity earlier in the process. In fiscal year 2025 alone, the department detected 2.5 million fraudulent entries, including duplicate submissions and unauthorized third-party applications.

Additional costs for some applicants

The State Department acknowledges that the new requirement could create extra costs. Applicants who do not already have a valid passport will now need to obtain one before entering the lottery, rather than waiting to see whether they are selected. Some applicants may also face added burdens related to scanning and uploading documents.

Those who qualify for passport exemptions, including stateless individuals and certain applicants unable to obtain passports from specific governments, may attest to an exemption under existing regulations.

Other changes

The final rule also updates terminology in the entry form. References to "gender" have been replaced with "sex" in line with Executive Order 14168, and "age" has been replaced with "date of birth" to reflect the data actually collected.

The DV system has been tested to support passport scan uploads alongside the $1 registration fee introduced in September 2025. Revised instructions for the DS-5501 form will be published before the DV-2027 entry period opens.

DV-2027 entry period may be delayed

The entry period for the Diversity Visa Program typically opens in early October and closes in early November. For DV-2026, the window ran from October 2 to November 7, 2024.

However, in its responses to public comments, the Department suggested the opening of the DV-2027 entry period may be delayed, though no specific date was indicated. Deferring the start could give applicants more time to obtain passports before registration opens.

The rule does not address the current pause on diversity visa issuance, which began on December 23, 2025. While it sets out new requirements for future entries, it does not announce that diversity visa processing has resumed.