The State Department released the final rules for the Green Card lottery or the Diversity Visa program, bringing back the measures introduced under the first Trump administration. Applicants for the Green Card lottery will now require a valid and unexpired passport from their home country before entering the lottery, beginning last month. The new rules will come into effect after a month.
Under the new rules, every DV program applicant must provide
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information from a valid, unexpired passport
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upload a JPEG scan of the passport’s biographic page and signature page when submitting the electronic entry form (DS-5501)
What is the Diversity Visa program?
It is the Green Card lottery program through which about 55,000 applicants can become Green Card holders in the US. This is a random computerized lottery and is separate from the other categories of Green Card.
It is meant for countries that have lower representation in the US. So people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Mexico, the Philippines, Brazil, Nigeria and South Korea can’t take part in this lottery.
The department said that the new rules will make sure that there is no fraud in the program. With a valid passport number, individuals from ineligible countries can’t fake their nationality. There have been instances of criminal enterprises misusing the visa program and submitting entries in the name of an individual.
In 2025 lottery, the department said it discovered 2. 5 million fraud entries. Elaborate scams have been going on over this Green Card lottery as third parties contact individuals and inform them that they have an opportunity to apply for US Green Card, but they would have to pay a large fee or participate in fraudulent activities for more details.
According to research conducted by the Visa Office of the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, the average price of a passport in countries that are eligible to participate in the DV Program is $74.43. Applicants will have to spend this money for the national security of the US.
