The Diversity Visa Lottery (DV): who qualifies, how it works, and how long it takes

Last reviewed September 6, 2026

Overview: The Diversity Visa program selects entries from eligible applicants, then requires selected people to qualify for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status within the program year’s strict deadline. Selection is an opportunity to apply, not a green-card approval or a guarantee that a visa will be issued.

Current issuance notice

Reviewed September 6, 2026: the Department of State’s August 31 update states that its earlier December 2025 pause ended following an August 28 court order, but a new pause on diversity-visa issuance took effect. It says applicants may continue applying and attending interviews, while visas will not be issued during the pause. The end of the earlier pause therefore does not amount to a general reopening of issuance.

The linked notice and program-year instructions describe the operating rules. An interview appointment does not override an issuance pause, and a pause does not automatically extend the statutory fiscal-year deadline.

Eligibility before entering

Eligibility generally depends on country of birth, not simply citizenship or residence. Some applicants can use a spouse’s or parents’ country under specific chargeability exceptions. The list of eligible birth countries is announced for each program year.

The principal applicant must satisfy the education or qualifying work-experience requirement. The education route generally requires completion of a qualifying formal elementary and secondary course comparable to a U.S. high-school education. The work route requires the specified recent experience in an occupation meeting the program’s training and experience criteria; two years in any job is not enough.

Spouses and children deriving through the principal do not independently need the principal’s education/work qualification, but they must satisfy their own relationship, identity and admissibility requirements.

Registration through the official system

State announces a registration period and instructions for each program year.
The principal must satisfy chargeability and the education or work-experience requirement.
The entry requires compliant recent photographs and accurate family information. Multiple entries for the same person can cause disqualification.
The submission produces a confirmation number.
The official Entrant Status Check uses that number to display results when available.

Entry instructions require the spouse and specified unmarried children under 21, including qualifying stepchildren or adopted children, to be listed even if they do not plan to immigrate. Specified exceptions apply to certain U.S. citizen or resident relatives and other circumstances. A later application generally cannot cure a disqualifying omission or false original entry.

Each eligible spouse may submit their own entry and properly list the family. That differs from submitting multiple entries for the same person, which can disqualify the entries.

If selected

The case number indicates the order in the relevant regional process. Selected applicants follow DS-260 consular processing or, when eligible inside the United States, the distinct adjustment procedure. Identity, civil, education or work evidence, medical examinations and interviews are parts of the final review.

Visa availability, processing capacity, admissibility and current issuance policies all matter. More people are selected than can receive visas. Selection alone does not establish whether or when immigration will occur.

Deadline and family

Diversity eligibility ordinarily ends on September 30 of the designated fiscal year. For DV-2026, that is September 30, 2026. The principal and derivatives must complete the applicable issuance or adjustment requirements within the governing deadline. That selection does not carry over into the next fiscal year for relatives.

Marriage, births and a child’s approaching 21st birthday need timely review. Genuine later family changes have documentation rules; adding a false spouse to a selected case is fraud.

Fees and fraud

The current State Department fee schedule lists a $1 registration charge and a separate $330 diversity-visa application fee. Operative instructions specify the program year and payment stage. Medical examinations, documents, travel and other applicable immigration charges are separate.

The government operates the entry and status-check system. A private agent cannot improve random selection odds or guarantee issuance. The confirmation number provides access to the result, and official instructions identify authorized payment procedures.