DV Lottery Overhaul: US Introduces Stricter Passport Rules Amid Fraud Concerns
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The United States has implemented more stringent regulations for the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery, mandating that applicants provide comprehensive passport information during the application process.
This modification is part of a larger initiative by US officials to enhance identity verification and mitigate fraud within the immigration system.
The Diversity Visa program allocates up to 55,000 immigrant visas annually to applicants from nations with comparatively low immigration rates to the United States.
Passport upload is a must for DV lottery entry, with applicants required to furnish details of a valid and unexpired passport and upload a digital scan of the biographic and signature pages.
Applications lacking passport information or a valid passport scan will be automatically disqualified from the lottery.
The revised regulation is set to come into force on April 10, 2026, and is anticipated to be relevant for the DV-2027 lottery cycle, which is expected to commence later in 2026.
India is ineligible for the Diversity Visa lottery, and the change will not affect Indian applicants, who must depend on alternative pathways such as employment-based visas, family sponsorship, or investment programs.
