The State Department is accepting online registrations for the Diversity Visa Lottery program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 from now until Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at 12:00 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST).
It is completely free to submit an online registration.
Foreign nationals who want to have a chance of being selected must register for the lottery by this deadline.
Submission of more than one entry for a person will disqualify all entries for that person.
The Fiscal Year 2026 DV lottery program will have up to 55,000 green cards up for grabs that will be selected through a randomized computer-generated process.
Winners for FY 2026 are expected to be announced starting May 3, 2025, through September 30, 2026, on the Website by selecting DV Entrant Status Check.
Foreign nationals selected in the FY 2026 lottery are eligible to file their green card applications starting October 1, 2025.
Please note that all who are selected in the DV 2026 lottery must apply for their immigrant visas during fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026).
Once all 55,000 diversity visas have been issued, the program will end. That is why it is so important for applicants to apply for an immigrant visa as early as possible.
You are eligible to participate if you meet the following requirements.
You must be a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States to enter
The list of eligible countries is available on the internet.
https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Diversity-Visa/DV-Instructions-Translations/dv-2025-instructions-translations/DV-2025_Instructions-faqs.pdf
If you are not a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States, there are two other ways you might be able to qualify.
Is your spouse a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States? If yes, you can claim your spouse’s country of birth – provided that you and your spouse are named on the selected entry, are found eligible and issued diversity visas, and enter the United States at the same time.
Are you a native of a country that does not have historically low rates of immigration to the United States, and neither of your parents were born in or legally resident in your native country at the time of your birth? If both of those statements are true, you may claim the country of birth of one of your parents if it is a country whose natives are eligible for the DV-2026 program
Each DV applicant must meet the education/work experience requirement of the DV program by having either:
at least a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of formal elementary and secondary education
OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform. The Department of State will use the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net Online database to determine qualifying work experience.
Applicants should not submit an entry to the DV program unless they meet both of these requirements. Submission of more than one entry will disqualify you for a diversity visa.
Applicants may submit their Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form (E-DV Entry Form or DS-5501), online at www.dvprogram.state.gov from now until Tuesday November 5th at 12 noon Eastern Daylight Time.
The State Department will not accept incomplete entries or entries sent by any other means. There is no cost to submit the online entry form.
After you submit a complete entry, you will see a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number. Print this confirmation screen for your records.
All DV entrants must go to the Entrant Status Check using the unique confirmation number saved from their DV online entry registration to find out whether their entry has been selected in the DV program.
The Entrant Status Check will be available on the E-DV website at dvprogram.state.gov from May 3, 2025, through September 30, 2026.
If your entry is selected, you will be directed to a confirmation page providing further instructions, including information about fees connected with immigration to the United States.
Entrant Status Check is the ONLY means by which the Department of State notifies selectees of their selection. The Department of State will not mail notification letters or notify selectees by email.
Finally, remember that you will not receive any emails or letter from the State Department. Applicants are only notified of selection through the Entrant Status Check located at: https://dvprogram.state.gov/