Green card lottery 2027: DV-2027 registration dates

55,000 green cards nearly vanished without a single executive order: the State Department simply never opened registration. On October 14, 2026 a federal court ordered the draw to go ahead. Dates, the new passport rule and $1 fee, who can enter and routes to the US without the lottery.

In detail

The world's best-known lottery was nearly cancelled without a single executive order. The US State Department simply did not open registration in the fall of 2025, then argued it was too late to open it at all. On October 14, 2026 a federal judge in San Diego disagreed: 55,000 green cards for 2027 will be drawn after all.

For people born in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and many other countries, this is one of the few routes to the United States that needs no employer, no million dollars and no relative with a US passport. Here is when to apply, what has changed and what to do if the lottery stalls again.

What did the court decide about the green card lottery?

The green card lottery is officially the Diversity Visa program, DV for short. Each year it hands out up to 55,000 permanent residence visas to natives of countries with low immigration to the US. The number after the letters is the US fiscal year: DV-2027 covers visas issued from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027.

DV-2027 registration should have opened in October 2025. It never did, no draw took place in May 2026, and the fiscal year began with zero selectees. In August 2026 immigration firm Red Eagle Law sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the US District Court for the Southern District of California, case 3:26-cv-04738.

Judge Jinsook Ohta granted a preliminary injunction, a temporary order that applies until the case is decided on the merits. She called the department's inaction arbitrary and capricious and a de facto cancellation of a program Congress created.

The court first set an October 15 deadline. The parties then jointly asked for more time, and the schedule moved:

Why was the lottery nearly scrapped?

The Trump administration has long opposed the program. In December 2025, after a shooting at Brown University by a man who had once entered the US through the lottery, visa issuance to DV-2026 winners was halted. It resumed under a separate court order only on August 28, 2026, a month before the fiscal year ended.

The takeaway: the lottery is alive, but it is living on court orders. The government may appeal, and the compressed schedule means winners get less time for paperwork and interviews. Normally they have almost a year and a half; this time it is about nine months.

What changed in the DV-2027 rules?

If you have entered before, the five-minute form is gone. There are two new requirements.

• A passport is mandatory. Under a State Department final rule of March 11, 2026, entrants must give valid passport details and upload a scan of the photo and signature pages. Exemptions are narrow, for example for stateless people.
• A $1 fee per entry. Since September 16, 2025, registration costs one dollar. It is non-refundable and cannot be waived, win or lose.
• Online only, on the official State Department site dvprogram.state.gov. Paper entries are not accepted, and any site promising a guaranteed win for money is a scam.

The core conditions are unchanged: a high school education, or 2 years of work in the last 5 in an occupation that needs at least 2 years of training. Eligibility depends on country of birth, not citizenship.

Who can enter the DV-2027 lottery?

In the last draw, DV-2026, natives of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan could enter. Natives of 19 countries that sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the US in five years were excluded, including India, China, Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines. The State Department will publish the exact DV-2027 list together with the dates.

Russia is not among the countries covered by the visa ban under Presidential Proclamation 10998, in force since January 1, 2026. A separate pause on immigrant visas for 75 countries, Russia included, ran from January 21, 2026 and ended on August 21, 2026, also by court order.

One practical point: the US Embassy in Moscow does not process immigrant visas, so residents of Russia are interviewed in Warsaw. That means a Schengen visa and at least one trip. Details are on our US visas page.

What should you do now?

• Check your passport. Without a valid one you cannot enter this year, and a new passport takes time.
• Get a compliant photo. A bad photo is the most common reason for disqualification, and you only find out after you win.
• Enter with your spouse. If you were both born in eligible countries, each files an entry listing the other, doubling the family's odds.
• Plan the money early. Winners must show they will not rely on public benefits, through savings or a US sponsor. See our guide to the United States.

Which US routes work without the lottery?

The lottery is a ticket with roughly a one-to-two percent chance, and this year it comes with a court footnote. Anyone serious about moving should keep a backup route.

For founders, a US company opens the door to investor and intra-company transfer visas. All of this year's visa policy changes are in our piece on new US visa rules.

Our US relocation services

The lottery decides only one thing: whether your name is on the list. Everything else, from documents and the interview to proof of funds and moving your family, comes down to preparation. That is where we help.

If you win, we help prepare the interview package for Warsaw or your consulate, document your finances and plan the first months in the US.

If the US does not work out, what are the alternatives?

US immigration in 2026 is like mountain weather: there is a forecast, but bring an umbrella. If you want a second passport or residence without queues or draws, choose countries with predictable rules.

Paraguayan citizenship and an Argentine passport give visa-free access to the Schengen area and dozens of other countries. Residence permits worldwide and digital nomad visas suit remote workers. Compare destinations in our guide on where to move in 2026.

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