DV-2027 Diversity Visa Now Requires a Passport at Registration (April 2026 Update)

The short version

Effective 10 April 2026 every DV-2027 lottery entrant must upload a valid, unexpired passport with the DS-5501 electronic entry form (passport number, country of issuance, expiration date, plus a JPEG scan of the biographic page). The photo specification is unchanged - 600x600 to 1200x1200 px square colour JPEG, plain white background, within the last 6 months, file under 240 KB. Stateless persons, nationals of communist-controlled countries that do not issue passports, and individual waiver-holders are exempt. The DV-2027 registration date itself has not yet been announced and the program has been delayed from the usual early-October opening.

What actually changed

On 11 March 2026 the US Department of State published a final rule in the Federal Register titled Visas: Enhancing Vetting and Combatting Fraud in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. The rule takes effect 10 April 2026 and applies starting with DV-2027.

The core change is in registration. Previously, a passport was only required later in the process, at the visa interview. Now every entrant must include passport details on the DS-5501 electronic entry form itself. Specifically each entry now needs:

Valid, unexpired passport number
Country of issuance
Expiration date
A JPEG scan of the biographic and signature page(s) of the passport
The standard DV photo (unchanged)

The rest of the entry form (name, gender, date and country of birth, education, marital status, spouse and children) stays the same.

The photo specification is unchanged

This is the single most useful clarification for entrants. The DS-5501 photo requirements have not been altered by this rule:

Format: square colour JPEG, 24-bit
Dimensions: 600x600 pixels minimum, 1200x1200 pixels maximum
File size: 240 KB or less
Background: plain white or off-white, no patterns, no shadows
Freshness: taken within the last 6 months
No glasses, no head covering except for daily religious wear, neutral expression, mouth closed, both eyes open
Compliance with the 2026 US State Department rule against AI-edited or digitally manipulated photos still applies (background standardisation and geometric cropping are permitted; facial editing is not)

Submitting a 240 KB JPEG that meets these rules has worked for the lottery since the DS-5501 form was introduced; 2026 has not changed any of that.

Who is exempt from the passport requirement

The final rule recognises three categories that do not need a passport at registration:

Stateless persons. Individuals not recognised as a national by any state under the operation of its law. Documentary evidence of statelessness is expected.
Nationals of communist-controlled countries who cannot obtain a passport.This is a narrow category in the rule's text. It is meant for situations where the home government will not issue a passport (commonly referenced examples include North Korea); the practical scope will be clarified in State Department field guidance.
Individual waiver-holders. Applicants who have a waiver issued jointly by the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security. Waivers are individually adjudicated and not granted in bulk; expect this to be exceedingly rare.

If you do not fit one of these categories and you do not have a current passport, you need to obtain one from your country of nationality before you can register for DV-2027.

Practical steps for entrants

Get or renew your passport first. If yours expires within the next 12 months, renew it before the registration window opens. Many passport authorities (especially in high-volume countries) take 1-3 months to issue or renew; do not get caught with an expired passport during the registration window.
Scan the biographic page at high quality. The DS-5501 form requires a JPEG upload of the page that shows your photo, name, date of birth, passport number, and signature. Use a flatbed scanner or a flat well-lit phone photo; avoid glare on the lamination.
Prepare the DV photo separately. The passport scan and the DV photo are two separate uploads; the passport photo on the inside of your passport book is NOT what the DV form wants for the photo field. The photo field wants a fresh square 600x600 px JPEG against a plain white background.
Watch travel.state.gov/dv for the registration date. The 2027 cycle has been delayed from the usual early-October opening and the State Department had not, as of late May 2026, announced the new dates. Do not rely on third-party sites for the date.
Do not pay third parties to register on your behalf. The official DV registration is filed directly at the State Department site. Sites that offer to register for you are at best paid intermediaries; at worst, fraud.

Before vs after, at a glance

Step	Before (DV-2026 and earlier)	Now (DV-2027, from 10 April 2026)
Passport needed at registration	No - only at interview if selected	Yes - required on the DS-5501 entry form
Passport scan upload	Not required	JPEG of biographic / signature page required
DV photo specification	600x600 to 1200x1200 px JPEG, white background, under 240 KB	Unchanged
Who can enter without a passport	Everyone could register	Only stateless persons, nationals of countries that refuse passports, and individual waiver-holders
Registration window	Early October to early November	Delayed - State Department has not yet confirmed the DV-2027 dates

FAQ

Do I need a passport to enter the DV-2027 lottery in 2026?

Yes. As of 10 April 2026, the US Department of State requires every DV-2027 entrant to upload a valid, unexpired passport with the DS-5501 electronic entry form. The form asks for the passport number, country of issuance, expiration date, and a JPEG scan of the biographic / signature page. The previous rule (passport only at the interview stage) was replaced by the final rule published in the Federal Register on 11 March 2026 to tighten vetting and combat fraud.

Did the DV photo specification change with the new rule?

No. The photo specification is unchanged. The DV-2027 entry still requires a square colour JPEG between 600x600 and 1200x1200 pixels, with a plain white or off-white background, taken within the last 6 months, file size 240 KB or less, no glasses, neutral expression. What changed is the passport requirement around the photo, not the photo itself.

I do not have a passport. Can I still enter DV-2027?

In limited cases yes. The final rule exempts stateless persons, nationals of communist-controlled countries who cannot obtain a passport from their government, and applicants who qualify for an individual waiver from the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security. If you do not fall into one of those categories, you need to obtain a valid passport from your country of nationality before you can register.

When does DV-2027 registration open?

The State Department has delayed the start of the DV-2027 registration period and has not, as of May 2026, confirmed the new opening date. Historically the DV lottery registration window has run from early October through early November. Monitor travel.state.gov/dv for the announcement; do not rely on third-party sites for the date.

What happens if I upload a passport that expires soon after I enter?

The passport must be valid and unexpired at the time of entry. State Department guidance does not yet specify a minimum remaining validity for the registration moment, but applicants whose passport expires before the visa-issuance stage will need to renew before the interview. Renewing early is strongly recommended; some passport authorities take months to issue.

Is there a registration fee now?

The State Departments March 2026 final rule and accompanying guidance tightened identity-verification controls and adjusted certain fees in the program. Refer to the current travel.state.gov DV page for the exact registration-stage fee, if any, for DV-2027; do not pay any third-party site claiming to handle DV registration on your behalf.

Need the DV-2027 photo itself?

Use our free US visa photo tool. Exports the exact 600x600 px JPEG under 240 KB the DS-5501 form requires, with a plain white background. No upload, no signup, no watermark; the photo is processed entirely in your browser.

Open the US visa photo tool →