Electronic Diversity Visa Program 2026 | American Lottery For Random Immigration To America
Program Overview
The Department of State annually administers the statutorily created Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. For Fiscal Year 2026, up to 55,000 Diversity Visas (DVs) will be available. There is no cost to register for the DV program, but selectees who are scheduled for an interview will be required to pay a visa application fee prior to making their formal visa application where a consular officer will determine whether they qualify for the visa.
Applicants who are selected in the program (selectees) must meet simple but strict eligibility requirements to qualify for a DV. The Department of State determines selectees through a randomized computer drawing. The Department of State distributes diversity visas among six geographic regions, and no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available DVs in any one year.
For DV-2026, natives of the following countries and areas are not eligible to apply, because more than 50,000 natives of these countries immigrated to the United States in the previous five years:
Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, The People’s Republic of China (including mainland and Hong Kong born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Venezuela, and Vietnam.
Natives of Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible.
With the exception of the United Kingdom and its dependent territories, which are now eligible for DV-2026, there were no changes in eligibility from the previous fiscal year.
Eligibility
Requirement #1: Natives of countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States may be eligible to enter.
If you are not a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States, there are two other ways you might be able to qualify.
- Is your spouse a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States? If yes, you can claim your spouse’s country of birth – provided that you and your spouse are named on the selected entry, are found eligible and issued diversity visas, and enter the United States at the same time.
- Are you a native of a country that does not have historically low rates of immigration to the United States, but in which neither of your parents was born or legally resident at the time of your birth? If yes, you may claim the country of birth of one of your parents if it is a country whose natives are eligible for the DV-2026 program.
Requirement #2: Each DV applicant must meet the education/work experience requirement of the DV program by having either:
at least a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of formal elementary and secondary education;
OR
two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform. The Department of State will use the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net Online database to determine qualifying work experience.
You should not submit an entry to the DV program unless you meet both of these requirements.
Entry period
2026 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2026) is now open. The entry submission period for DV-2026 is from 12:00PM EDT (GMT -4) on October 2, 2024 to 12:00PM EST (GMT -5) on November 5, 2024. The entry form will only be available for submission during this period and this period only. Entries will NOT be accepted through the U.S. Postal Service. Do not wait until the last week of the registration period to enter as heavy demand may result in website delays. No late entries or paper entries will be accepted. The law allows only one entry per person during each entry period. The Department of State uses sophisticated technology to detect multiple entries. Submission of more than one entry for a person will disqualify all entries for that person.
Completing your Electronic Entry for the DV-2026 Program
Submit your Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form (E-DV Entry Form or DS-5501), online at dvprogram.state.gov. We will not accept incomplete entries or entries sent by any other means. There is no cost to submit the online entry form. Please use an updated browser when submitting your application; older browsers (Internet Explorer 8, for example) will likely encounter problems with the online DV system.
We strongly encourage you to complete the entry form yourself, without a “visa consultant,” “visa agent,” or other person who offers to help. If someone helps you, you should be present when your entry is prepared so that you can provide the correct answers to the questions and keep your unique confirmation number and a printout of your confirmation screen. It is extremely important that you have the printout of your confirmation page and unique confirmation number. Unscrupulous visa facilitators have been known to assist entrants with their entries, keep the confirmation page printout, and then demand more money or illegal activities in exchange for the confirmation number. Without this information, you will not be able to access the online system that informs you of your entry status. Be wary if someone offers to keep this information for you. You also should have access to the email account listed in your E-DV entry.
After you submit a complete entry, you will see a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number. Print this confirmation screen for your records. Starting May 4, 2024, you will be able to check the status of your entry by returning to dvprogram.state.gov, clicking on Entrant Status Check, and entering your unique confirmation number and personal information. You must use Entrant Status Check to check if you have been selected for DV-2025 and, if selected, to view instructions on how to proceed with your application. The U.S. government will not inform you directly. Entrant Status Check is the sole source for instructions on how to proceed with your application. If you are selected and submit a visa application and required documents, you must use Entrant Status Check to check your immigrant visa interview appointment date.
You must provide all of the following information to complete your entry. Failure to accurately include all the required information may make you ineligible for a DV.
- Name – last/family name, first name, middle name – exactly as it appears on your passport, if you have a passport (for example, if your passport shows only your first and last/family name, please list your last/family name and then first name; do not include a middle name unless it is included on your passport. If your passport includes a first, middle and last/family name, please list them in the following order: last/family name, first name, middle name). If you have only one name, it must be entered in the last/family name field.
- Gender – male or female.
- Birth date – day, month, year.
- City where you were born.
- Country where you were born – Use the name of the country currently used for the place where you were born.
- Country of eligibility for the DV program – Your country of eligibility will normally be the same as your country of birth. Your country of eligibility is not related to where you live or your nationality if it is different from your country of birth.
- Entrant photograph(s) – Recent photographs (taken within the last six months) of yourself, your spouse, and all your derivative children included on your entry. You do not need to include a photograph for a spouse or child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident, but you will not be penalized if you do.
DV entry photographs must meet the same standards as U.S. visa photos. You may be ineligible for a DV if the entry photographs for you and your family members do not fully meet these specifications or have been manipulated in any way. Submitting the same photograph that was submitted with a prior year’s entry will make you ineligible for a DV. - Mailing Address – In Care Of
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
City/Town
District/Country/Province/State
Postal Code/Zip Code Country - Country where you live today.
- Phone number (optional).
- Email address – An email address to which you have direct access and will continue to have direct access through May of the next year. If you check the Entrant Status Check in May and learn you have been selected, you will later receive follow-up email communication from the Department of State with details if an immigrant visa interview becomes available. The Department of State will never send you an email telling you that you have been selected for the DV program.
- Highest level of education you have achieved, as of today: (1) Primary school only, (2) Some high school, no diploma, (3) High school diploma, (4) Vocational school, (5) Some university courses, (6) University degree, (7) Some graduate-level courses, (8) Master’s degree, (9) Some doctoral-level courses, or (10) Doctorate.
- Current marital status: (1) unmarried, (2) married and my spouse is NOT a U.S. citizen or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), (3) married and my spouse IS a U.S. citizen or U.S. LPR, (4) divorced, (5) widowed, or (6) legally separated. Enter the name, date of birth, gender, city/town of birth, and country of birth of your spouse, and a photograph of your spouse meeting the same technical specifications as your photo.
Failure to list your eligible spouse or, listing someone who is not your spouse, may make you ineligible as the DV principal applicant and your spouse and children ineligible as DV derivative applicants. You must list your spouse even if you currently are separated from them unless you are legally separated. Legal separation is an arrangement when a couple remain married but live apart, following a court order. If you and your spouse are legally separated, your spouse will not be able to immigrate with you through the DV program. You will not be penalized if you choose to enter the name of a spouse from whom you are legally separated. If you are not legally separated by a court order, you must include your spouse even if you plan to be divorced before you apply for the Diversity Visa, or your spouse does not intend to immigrate.
If your spouse is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident, do not list them in your entry. A spouse who is already a U.S. citizen or LPR will not require or be issued a visa. Therefore, if you select “married and my spouse IS a U.S. citizen or U.S. LPR” on your entry, you will not be prompted to include further information on your spouse.
- Number of children – List the name, date of birth, gender, city/town of birth, and country of birth for all living, unmarried children under 21 years of
age, regardless of whether they are living with you or intend to accompany or follow to join you, should you immigrate to the United States. Submit individual photographs of each of your children using the same technical specifications as your own photograph.
Be sure to include:
o all living natural children;
o all living children legally adopted by you; and,
o all living stepchildren who are unmarried and under the age of 21 on the date of your electronic entry, even if you are no longer legally married to the child’s parent, and even if the child does not currently reside with you and/or will not immigrate with you.
Married children and children who are already aged 21 or older when you submit your entry are not eligible for the DV program. However, the Child Status Protection Act protects children from “aging out” in certain circumstances: if you submit your DV entry before your unmarried child turns 21, and the child turns 21 before visa issuance, it is possible that he or she may be treated as though he or she were under 21 for visa processing purposes.
A child who is already a U.S. citizen or LPR when you submit your DV entry will not require or be issued a Diversity Visa; you will not be penalized for either including or omitting such family members from your entry.
Failure to list all children who are eligible or listing someone who is not your child may make you ineligible for a DV, in which case your spouse and children will also be ineligible as Diversity Visa derivative applicants.
Selection of Entries
Based on the allocations of available visas in each region and country, the Department of State will randomly select individuals by computer from among qualified entries. All DV-2025 entrants must go to the Entrant Status Check using the unique confirmation number saved from their DV-2026 online entry registration to find out whether their entry has been selected in the DV program. Entrant Status Check will be available on the E-DV website at dvprogram.state.gov from May 4, 2025, through at least September 30, 2026.
If your entry is selected, you will be directed to a confirmation page providing further instructions, including information about fees connected with immigration to the United States. Entrant Status Check will be the ONLY means by which the Department of State notifies selectees of their selection for DV-2026. The Department of State will not mail notification letters or notify selectees by email. U.S. embassies and consulates will not provide a list of selectees. Individuals who have not been selected also ONLY will be notified through Entrant Status Check. You are strongly encouraged to access Entrant Status Check yourself. Do not rely on someone else to check and inform you.
In order to immigrate, DV selectees must be admissible to the United States. The DS-260, Online Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application, electronically, and the consular officer, in person, will ask you questions about your eligibility to immigrate under U.S. law. These questions include criminal and security-related topics.
All selectees, including family members, must be issued visas by September 30, 2026. Under no circumstances can the Department of State issue DVs nor can USCIS approve adjustments after this date, nor can family members obtain DVs to follow-to-join the principal applicant in the United States after this date. The U.S. government only authorizes issuance of approximately 55,000 diversity visas each year. Given the limited number of visas available, selectees should act promptly in submitting their materials and pursuing their application.
Submitting a Digital Photograph
You can take a new digital photograph or scan a recent (taken within the last six months) photograph with a digital scanner if it meets all of the standards below. DV entry photos must be of the same quality and composition as U.S. visa photos.
Do not submit a photograph older than six months or a photograph that does not meet all the standards described below. Submitting the same photograph that you submitted with a prior year’s entry, a photograph that has been manipulated, or a photograph that does not meet the specifications below may make you ineligible for a DV.
Your photos or digital images must be:
- In color
- In focus
- Sized such that the head is between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (22 mm and 35 mm) or 50 percent and 69 percent of the image’s total height from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. View the Photo Composition Template for more size requirement details.
- Taken within the last six months to reflect your current appearance
- Taken in front of a plain white or off-white background
- Taken in full-face view directly facing the camera
- With a neutral facial expression and both eyes open
- Taken in clothing that you normally wear on a daily basis
- Uniforms should not be worn in your photo, except religious clothing that is worn daily.
- Do not wear a hat or head covering that obscures the hair or hairline, unless worn daily for a religious purpose. Your full face must be visible, and the head covering must not cast any shadows on your face.
- Headphones, wireless hands-free devices, or similar items are not acceptable in your photo.
- Do not wear eyeglasses.
- If you normally wear a hearing device or similar articles, they may be worn in your photo.
Photos copied or digitally scanned from driver’s licenses or other official documents are not acceptable. In addition, snapshots, magazine photos, low quality vending machine, and full-length photographs are not acceptable.
You must upload your digital image as part of your entry. Your digital image must be:
- In JPEG (.jpg) file format
- Equal to or less than 240 kB (kilobytes) in file size
- In a square aspect ratio (height must equal width)
- 600×600 pixels in dimension
Do you want to scan an existing photo? In addition to the digital image requirements, your existing photo must be:
- 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm)
- Scanned at a resolution of 300 pixels per inch (12 pixels per millimeter)
Taking photos of your baby or toddler
When taking a photo of your baby or toddler, no other person should be in the photo, and your child should be looking at the camera with his or her eyes open.
Tip 1:
Lay your baby on his or her back on a plain white or off-white sheet. This will ensure your baby’s head is supported and provide a plain background for the photo. Make certain there are no shadows on your baby’s face, especially if you take a picture from above with the baby lying down.
Tip 2:
Cover a car seat with a plain white or off-white sheet and take a picture of your child in the car seat. This will also ensure your baby’s head is supported.
List Of Countries/areas By Region Whose Natives Are Eligible For Dv-2026
The list below shows the countries and areas whose natives are eligible for DV-2026, grouped by geographic region. Dependent areas overseas are included within the region of the governing country. DHS identified the countries whose natives are not eligible for the DV-2026 program according to the formula in Section 203(c) of the INA. The countries whose natives are not eligible for the DV program (because they are the principal source countries of Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based immigration or “high-admission” countries) are noted after the respective regional lists.
AFRICA
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cabo Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Djibouti
Egypt*
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia, The
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Rwanda
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
In Africa, natives of Nigeria are not eligible for this year’s Diversity Visa program.
ASIA
Afghanistan
Bahrain
Bhutan
Brunei
Burma
Cambodia
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel*
Japan*
Jordan*
Kuwait
Laos
Lebanon
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Nepal
North Korea
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Syria*
Taiwan
Thailand
Timor-Leste
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
*Persons born in the areas administered prior to June 1967 by Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt are chargeable, respectively, to Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. Persons born in the Gaza Strip are chargeable to Egypt; persons born in the West Bank are chargeable to Jordan; persons born in the Golan Heights are chargeable to Syria.
** Macau S.A.R. (Europe region, chargeable to Portugal) and Taiwan (Asia region) do qualify and are listed. For the purposes of the diversity program only, persons born in Macau S.A.R. derive eligibility from Portugal.
***Persons born in the Habomai Islands, Shikotan, Kunashiri, and Etorofu are chargeable to Japan. Persons born in Southern Sakhalin are chargeable to Russia.
Natives of the following Asia Region countries are not eligible for this year’s Diversity Visa program:
Bangladesh, China (including Hong Kong), India, Pakistan, South Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam.
EUROPE
Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark (including components and dependent areas overseas)
Estonia
Finland
France (including components and
dependent areas overseas)
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Kazakhstan
Kosovo
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau Special Administrative Region**
North Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands (including components and dependent areas overseas)
Northern Ireland*
Norway (including components and dependent areas overseas)
Poland
Portugal (including components and dependent areas overseas)
Romania
Russia**
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
United Kingdom (including dependent areas)
Uzbekistan
Vatican City
** Macau S.A.R. does qualify and is listed above and for the purposes of the diversity program only; persons born in Macau S.A.R. derive eligibility from Portugal.
***For purposes of the diversity program only, Northern Ireland is treated separately. Northern Ireland does qualify and is listed among the qualifying areas.
**** Persons born in the Habomai Islands, Shikotan, Kunashiri, and Etorofu are chargeable to Japan. Persons born in Southern Sakhalin are chargeable to Russia.
Great Britain (United Kingdom) and its dependent areas do qualify for DV-2025. Great Britain (United Kingdom) includes the following dependent areas: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, St. Helena, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
NORTH AMERICA
Bahamas, The
In North America, natives of Canada and Mexico are not eligible for this year’s DV program.
OCEANIA
Australia (including components and
dependent areas overseas)
Fiji
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia, Federated States of
Nauru
New Zealand (including components and
dependent areas overseas)
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Chile
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Ecuador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Uruguay
Countries in this region whose natives are not eligible for this year’s DV program:
Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, and Venezuela.
