The State Department will begin accepting online registrations for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery starting Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at noon EDT. Foreign nationals who wish to enter the lottery have until Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at noon EST to file online.
For FY 2026, the DV lottery program will make up to 55,000 green card numbers available through random selection. FY 2026 lottery results will be announced in May 2025. Foreign nationals selected in the FY 2026 lottery can submit their green card applications starting on October 1, 2025.
The DV lottery is open to natives of countries that have historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Individuals from countries with high rates of U.S. immigration are not eligible to register.
This year, those born in the following countries are ineligible: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including mainland and Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Individuals born in Macau SAR and Taiwan can participate.
Those who cannot register because their country of birth is excluded may be able to qualify through a spouse who was born in an eligible country or, in certain circumstances, through a parent’s country of birth.
Entrants must have at least a high school education (or equivalent) or two years of qualifying work experience within the past five years.
Registering for the lottery:
Entrants must submit an online form and a digital photo through the official DV lottery website. DV lottery applicants may include a spouse and children in their entry.
Only one entry is permitted per person. If there are multiple registrations on behalf of one person, all of the registrations are disqualified.
Applicants must carefully follow the State Department’s official lottery instructions. Lottery entries and digital photos that do not precisely conform to the instructions will be disqualified.
Once the application is accepted, applicants will receive a confirmation number, which can be used to check the status of their application.