Will the DV Lottery Open in 2026? DV-2028 Registration Status

The Short Answer

Not yet, and nobody outside the State Department knows when. On 15 October 2026 the official entry site, dvprogram.state.gov, read: “Entries are not being accepted at this time.” The most recent entry period it lists is DV-2026, which ran from October 2 to November 7, 2024.

The last two entry periods opened on October 4, 2023 and October 2, 2024, which is why people expect October. That is a pattern, not a schedule. The State Department sets each year's dates in that year's instructions, and as of 15 October 2026 it has published none for DV-2027 or DV-2028. Any site giving you a date is guessing.

What Happened to DV-2027

On 5 November 2025 the State Department posted a notice on travel.state.gov titled “Changes to Entry Period for 2027 Diversity Visa (DV) Program”. It reads: “The Department is implementing certain changes to the Diversity Visa (DV) entry process. We will announce the start date for the DV-2027 registration period as soon as practicable, as well as the date that DV-2027 selection results may become available through the Entry Status Check (ESC).”

The same notice says the visa application period for DV-2027 selectees “will remain October 1, 2026, to September 30, 2027.” That period has now started. Registration for it has not.

No later notice has followed. On 15 October 2026 the department's U.S. Visas News page listed nothing newer on DV registration than the November 2025 notice. The Federal Register, where the instructions were published for DV-2025 (3 October 2023) and DV-2026 (1 October 2024), carries none for DV-2027 or DV-2028. A rule the department published in March 2026 says it “anticipates the deferral of the opening of the entry period for the 2027 Diversity Visa program year”.

What Changes for Entrants When It Opens

The delay came with new entry rules. A final rule in the Federal Register of 11 March 2026 (91 FR 11891), effective 10 April 2026, changes what you need to submit an entry:

• A valid, unexpired passport: you must give its details and upload a scan of the biographic and signature page.
• Three exemptions from the passport rule: stateless entrants; nationals of a Communist-controlled country who cannot obtain a passport from that government; and entrants covered by an individual waiver approved by the Secretaries of Homeland Security and State.
• A fee of $1 per entry: the rule says entrants “must pay a $1 fee at the time of submitting their entry, and no waivers will be available for the nominal fee.” Some State Department pages still describe registration as free; the rule is the newer text.
• The rule also says the deferred DV-2027 opening should give people time to get a passport, and that the department did not postpone the requirement to DV-2028.

Visas for People Already Selected

A separate story concerns people who were already selected. In December 2025 the State Department paused the issuance of diversity visas after the shooting at Brown University and the killing of an MIT professor, which it said were suspected to have been committed by someone admitted through the DV program.

Its guidance page, last updated 31 August 2026, now opens: “As of August 28, 2026, in accordance with the Court’s order in Medani et al. v. Trump et al., the December 2025 pause of diversity visa issuance is no longer in effect.” USCIS posted a matching alert on 4 September 2026 about adjustment-of-status cases. The litigation continues, and none of it sets a registration date for the next lottery.

How to Prepare Now

None of this needs the dates. When the entry period opens it will run for at least 30 days, the minimum set by the regulation (22 CFR 42.33), so there is no advantage in being first.

• Get or renew your passport now. Under the new rule you cannot enter without one unless you are exempt.
• Check your country is eligible when the instructions come out. The list is published with each year's instructions and changes between years.
• Take a new photo within six months of entering. The DV instructions say a photo older than six months, the same photo used in a prior year's entry, or one that has been manipulated may make you ineligible.
• Enter only at dvprogram.state.gov, and keep your confirmation number. The DV instructions say the U.S. government will not inform you directly; Entrant Status Check on that site is the sole source.
• Ignore anyone who offers to enter you early or improve your chances. Selectees are chosen by a randomized computer drawing. The March 2026 rule describes a fraud ring that entered people's names without their knowledge and then demanded up to $15,000 for the confirmation number.

The Photo, When the Time Comes

The digital photo has to be a 600x600 pixel square JPEG of 240 kB or less, with the head at 50–69% of the image height and the eyes at 56–69% from the bottom, on a plain white or off-white background, without glasses. Our DV lottery photo requirements page quotes each rule from the State Department, including the one about manipulated photos, which is why we do not make DV photos ourselves.

Sources

dvprogram.state.gov, read on 15 October 2026. On travel.state.gov: “Changes to Entry Period for 2027 Diversity Visa (DV) Program” (5 November 2025), “Diversity Visa Issuance Updated Guidance” (last updated 31 August 2026) and the U.S. Visas News list, all read on 15 October 2026. The Federal Register final rule “Visas: Enhancing Vetting and Combatting Fraud in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program”, 91 FR 11891, 11 March 2026, and the DV-2026 instructions, Federal Register document 2024-22482, 1 October 2024. USCIS, “Court Order on Diversity Immigrant Visa Program Hold Policy”, 4 September 2026.

This post describes what had been published on 15 October 2026. If the State Department has announced dates since, its announcement is the one to follow.