DV Lottery 2027: New Passport Requirement Starts April 10, 2026

If you plan to enter the diversity visa lottery for the 2027 program year, there is a new passport requirement. The Department of State published a final rule on March 11, 2026 requiring DV-2027 entrants to include valid, unexpired passport information and upload a scan of their passport's biographic and signature page when submitting their entry form, unless they qualify for a limited exemption. The rule amends 22 CFR Part 42 under the authority of INA § 204(a)(1)(I).

This is not a proposal. It is a final rule, effective April 10, 2026, and it applies starting with the DV-2027 registration period. If you do not currently have a valid passport, you generally need one before you can register unless you qualify for one of the rule's limited exemptions.

The State Department says fraud is the reason. During the DV-2025 program year, the Department identified 2.5 million fraudulent entries. Criminal enterprises have been submitting entries on behalf of people without their knowledge, then extorting them for the confirmation numbers needed to move forward.

What the DV Lottery 2027 Passport Requirement Covers

The updated DS-5501 (Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form) now requires each entrant to provide:

• The unique serial or issuance number from a valid, unexpired passport
• The petitioner's name as it appears on the passport
• The country or authority that issued the passport
• The passport expiration date
• A scan of the biographic and signature page uploaded as an image file

The scan must be in JPEG (JFIF) format. PDF is not accepted. Maximum file size is 5 MB.

There is also a new $1 entry fee paid at registration through Pay.gov. This fee was announced in a separate rulemaking in September 2025. Pay.gov accepts credit and debit cards, PayPal, and Venmo internationally.

The Department estimates the updated form takes about 90 minutes to complete, up from 30 minutes before. The extra time accounts for locating your passport, scanning the biographic page, uploading the file, and paying the fee.

Who Is Exempt From the Passport Requirement

The rule has limited exemptions. You may indicate that you are exempt if you fall into one of these categories:

Stateless persons. If you have no recognized nationality and cannot obtain a passport from any country, you are exempt under existing passport waiver rules at 22 CFR § 42.2(d).

Nationals of Communist-controlled countries unable to obtain a passport. If your country's government is Communist-controlled and it is not possible for you to obtain a passport from that government, you may claim this exemption under 22 CFR § 42.2(e).

Case-by-case waivers. Individuals who expect to qualify for an individual waiver approved by both the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State may also be exempt. These waivers are determined at the time of interview, not at registration.

The Department rejected calls for broader exemptions, including those based on financial hardship. Its reasoning: anyone unable to afford a passport is unlikely to have the financial means to complete the immigration process if selected.

Why the State Department Introduced This Rule

DV program fraud has been documented for years. The lottery gives each entrant a unique confirmation number, and unauthorized third parties can submit entries on behalf of people without their knowledge, then withhold that confirmation number unless the person pays large sums or agrees to participate in a sham marriage.

A few examples from the final rule's preamble:

• Bangladesh (2012): A single IP address was responsible for more than 634,000 entries. Investigators found computers loaded with thousands of fake applications, staged photos, and fabricated education documents.
• Ukraine (2013): A Department OIG report described organized fraud rings masquerading as travel agencies. They submitted entries for Ukrainian citizens without consent and charged selected applicants up to $15,000 to hand over their confirmation numbers.
• Cambodia (2023): A similar operation charged selectees $5,000 to $30,000.

Requiring a valid, unexpired passport makes it harder for these operations to file unauthorized entries, since they are far less likely to have the applicant's passport. The State Department also says the passport information allows earlier identity verification for national security vetting.

In FY25 (no passport requirement), the Department disqualified 2.5 million fraudulent entries. In FY22 (passport requirement in effect), it disqualified 760,079.

This Rule Was in Place Before (and Got Struck Down)

The State Department has tried this before:

• 2019: The Department introduced a passport requirement via an interim final rule. It went into effect without the standard notice-and-comment process.
• DV-2021 through DV-2023: The passport requirement was in effect.
• 2022: The D.C. District Court struck down the 2019 rule in E.B. v. Department of State, 583 F. Supp. 3d 58 (D.D.C. 2022), finding that the Department had violated the Administrative Procedure Act by skipping public notice and comment.
• DV-2024 and DV-2025: The requirement was removed after the court ruling.
• August 2025: The Department published a new proposed rule (NPRM), this time with a proper 45-day comment period. It received 399 public comments, most in support.
• March 11, 2026: The final rule was published. It is legally distinct from the 2019 rule because it followed proper APA rulemaking procedure.

The participation data tells the story:

Entry volume dropped sharply when the passport was required. But in every year it was in place, all 55,000 available diversity visas were still issued. Fewer entries, same number of visas awarded.

The Department's read: the fraudulent entries inflated participation numbers without increasing the pool of legitimate applicants. The 55,000 visas are the ceiling regardless.

What Changes on the DS-5501 Form

The DS-5501 has been updated with several changes:

1. Passport information fields — serial number, issuing country, expiration date, and a document upload for the biographic and signature page.
2. A fee payment page has been added for the $1 entry fee, processed via Pay.gov.
3. The term "gender" has been replaced with "sex" throughout, consistent with Executive Order 14168. Only male and female options are available. The sex listed should reflect biological sex at birth, even if it differs from what appears on the passport.
4. The field previously labeled "age" now reads "date of birth."

The updated form will be available at dvprogram.state.gov. The Department is coordinating OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

What This Means If You Plan to Enter DV-2027

In practical terms:

Get your passport before the registration period opens. You cannot register without one unless you qualify for an exemption. Passport processing times vary widely by country, and the Department has said it will push back the opening of the DV-2027 registration period to give people time. But "deferred" does not mean indefinitely delayed — do not wait.

The average passport cost in DV-eligible countries is $74.43, based on State Department research. Some countries cost significantly more or less. If you are unsure about requirements in your country, check directly with your government's passport authority.

Keep a copy of the passport you use to register. If you are selected as a DV-2027 selectee, you should be prepared to show that the passport information on your entry was valid at the time of registration. The Department has said applicants may be denied if they cannot produce evidence that the passport number on their entry was valid when they registered.

Missing DV-2027 does not affect future years. Each program year is treated separately.

For more on how U.S. immigration policy has shifted in 2025 and 2026, see the State Department's pause on immigrant visa issuance for 75 countries and how the 2025 travel ban affects families and visitors. For a primer on how visa numbers are allocated each year, see the how the Visa Bulletin works guide.

If you already have a passport and want to understand the six-month validity rule that applies during U.S. travel, read the U.S. six-month passport validity rule explainer.

Official Sources

This post is based on the final rule published by the Department of State on March 11, 2026. All information was verified against official sources as of March 2026.

Department of State

• Final Rule: Visas: Enhancing Vetting and Combatting Fraud in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program — 91 FR 11891, Doc. 2026-04737
• DV Program Statistics
• DV Program Official Entry Site
• DV Program Information Page

Federal Regulations

• 22 CFR § 42.33 — Diversity Immigrants
• 22 CFR § 42.2 — Passport and travel document requirements and exceptions

Immigration and Nationality Act

• INA § 203(c), 8 U.S.C. 1153(c) — Diversity Immigrant Visa allocation
• INA § 204(a)(1)(I), 8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(I) — Petition procedures and Secretary of State rulemaking authority

Case Law

• E.B. v. Department of State, 583 F. Supp. 3d 58 (D.D.C. 2022)

Immigration regulations change frequently. This post reflects the rule as published on March 11, 2026.