DV Lottery 2027 for 55,000 Green Cards Set to Open in October; Will a Passport Be Required This Year?

The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery for 2027 is set to open in early October 2025. While an exact date for the DV 2027 application period has not been specified, it is expected to begin in the first week of October. The Department of State will soon publish detailed information on its website and in the Federal Register, including the application period, eligibility criteria, and a list of eligible countries.

The Trump administration has proposed a rule to make passports mandatory for DV Lottery applicants, but this regulation is unlikely to take effect for the upcoming October application period due to the time required for finalization. It was the Trump administration that formally proposed this requirement last month, though the Biden administration had initially planned to introduce it last year.

Previously, in June 2019, the Trump administration introduced an interim rule mandating passports for DV applications. However, this was struck down by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, who ruled that the regulation was implemented without following proper procedures. Notably, Judge Kelly was appointed by President Donald Trump. Following the court’s decision, the U.S. Department of State issued a final rule in 2022, eliminating the passport requirement.

The current Trump administration is now working to reinstate the passport requirement, ensuring legal compliance. On August 5, 2025, the proposed rule was published in the Federal Register, with a public comment period open until September 19, 2025. However, with limited time before the DV 2027 application period, it is unlikely this rule will apply to the upcoming lottery.

If implemented, applicants will need to provide their passport serial number, issuing country, expiration date, and a JPEG scan of the passport’s biographical and signature pages.

The U.S. Department of State has highlighted ongoing fraud in the DV Lottery program as a key reason for the proposed passport requirement. Unauthorized third parties have been reported to submit applications without individuals’ consent, later demanding payment or using fraudulent documents to meet eligibility criteria. In Bangladesh (2012), over 634,000 visa applications were submitted from a single IP address, with investigations uncovering thousands of fraudulent applications using fake educational credentials and doctored marriage photos.

In Ukraine, fraudulent groups posing as travel agencies used personal information from public sources to submit DV applications without consent. Selected applicants were later contacted and asked to pay up to $15,000 for confirmation numbers or coerced into fake marriages to secure visas.

In Cambodia (2023), the U.S. Embassy reported fraudulent photos where clothing or backgrounds were altered to bypass photo requirements. Visa scammers charged between $5,000 and $30,000 to prepare fake DV cases.

The Department of State believes that requiring passports, which are harder to forge than other identification documents, will reduce fraudulent applications and streamline the visa interview process.

Historical data shows that the passport requirement significantly reduces the number of DV applicants. From 2016 to 2019, before the requirement, applications ranged from 11.4 million to 14.7 million annually, with 45,889 to 49,976 visas issued. During the 2021–2023 period, when passports were required, applications dropped to 6.7 million to 9.6 million, though visa issuances remained stable (55,882 in 2022 and 55,076 in 2023). When the requirement was removed for DV 2024, applications surged to over 23.8 million, with 54,554 visas issued.

The proposed rule includes exemptions for stateless individuals, citizens of communist countries, and others with approved waivers, acknowledging that obtaining a passport can be costly or challenging for some. However, the Department of State notes that passports are already required for final visa interviews.

The DV Lottery is a significant pathway for Nepali immigrants seeking opportunities in the U.S. Since 1995, over 56,000 Nepalis have received green cards through the program, accounting for over 25% of all green cards issued to Nepalis. Participation has grown steadily, with over 1 million Nepalis applying annually in recent years.

Even during the 2019–2021 period, when passports were required, participation remained high, with 688,502 Nepalis applying for DV 2021, 1,026,423 for DV 2020, and 1,092,035 for DV 2019.

Green card issuances to Nepalis have also increased over time. In 1995, only 74 green cards were issued, but by 2013, the number peaked at 3,377. From 2014 to 2018, over 3,000 green cards were issued annually, with a high of 3,504 in 2014. Despite a dip to 1,372 in 2021 due to the pandemic, 3,431 green cards were issued in 2024.

For DV 2025, 3,861 Nepalis were selected out of 131,060 global selectees, ranking Nepal third in Asia behind Iran (5,267) and Afghanistan (4,009). Globally, 19,927,656 applications were submitted, though only 55,000 visas are available annually due to eligibility and processing constraints.