Everything About the Green Card Lottery
Verified updates checked 3 October 2026
Issuance paused. On 23 December 2025 the State Department paused all visa issuances to diversity visa applicants, with no exceptions, after two violent incidents in the US that officials linked to a person admitted through the program. Interviews could still be held but visas were not issued. The State Department page I could open still shows that notice.
Court order on USCIS holds. On 28 August 2026 a federal court (Medani v. Trump, Northern District of California) temporarily set aside the USCIS hold policy on DV-2026 applicants who applied to adjust status inside the US and told USCIS to resume normal processing. USCIS disagrees and says it will comply while the case continues.
DV-2026 has ended. By law, selectees can only get a visa in the fiscal year they were selected for, which ended 30 September 2026.
For DV-2026, the State Department recorded 20,822,624 qualified entries in the 2 October-7 November 2024 entry window. The worldwide, Arab and Egyptian figures below refer to the original article, not to this DV-2026 count. For FY2025, Egypt reached the 7% country cap out of 52,056 available visas on 15 September 2025; that is a year-specific cap, not a fixed annual quota.
A rule published on 11 March 2026, effective 10 April 2026, requires valid passport details and a passport scan at entry for DV-2027, with limited exceptions.
The Diversity Visa program, also called the “DV lottery” or the green card lottery, was established by law in 1990 to make 50,000 to 55,000 visas available each year for entry to America and permanent residence there, through a random computer drawing. The program aims to diversify the immigrant population of the United States, and it targets countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. over the previous five years. Permanent residence (the “Green Card”) lets holders work, study and live in the United States, and then obtain U.S. citizenship five years after receiving the card.
Apply through the State Department electronic form during the announced registration window. Entry now costs $1. For DV-2027, the State Department notice says the opening and results dates will be announced as soon as practicable; do not assume the usual October dates apply.
Benefits of the program
It is the cheapest and easiest route to lawful residence in America. Entry on the government website costs $1. After you win, the visa fee at the U.S. embassy is around $330, plus a few other costs (medical exam and translation of some documents) that should not exceed $150, not counting travel and living expenses.
It is the cheapest and easiest way to U.S. citizenship, five years after you hold the green card, provided you do not spend more than half that time (two and a half years) outside the United States during the five years.
You get all the benefits a U.S. citizen enjoys except the right to vote in elections: work, education, health insurance, financial support for low-income people, and loans for study and for starting a business.
Eligibility
Nothing is required except that the applicant is from a country that is allowed to take part in the program in the year of application (the original edition described every Arab country as eligible; the list is set each year, and the DV-2027 list has not been confirmed), has a high school diploma or equivalent, and is at least 18. In other words, you do not need to speak English, you do not need money in a bank account, and you do not even need relatives in the United States.
For young men of conscription age: you can apply before settling your military status. But if you win, you cannot do the embassy interview without having resolved it. The applicant must have completed service, or hold a deferment or exemption, before the interview date. The interview usually comes no less than a full year after you apply.
How to apply
The only official site for applying is https://dvprogram.state.gov. Any other site is not valid and will not be recognized. Registration is only possible during the announced window; DV-2027 dates have not been announced in the notice checked on 3 October 2026.
Information you must provide
You must give all the required details, such as your full name and the number and names of your unmarried children under 21, even if some of them do not wish to emigrate. Married children and children over 21 should not be listed. If your spouse has children under 21 from a previous marriage, they must be listed too. One email address can be used to submit entries for several different people.
Married applicants must state this clearly. Spouses can also submit two separate entries, one in the husband’s name and one in the wife’s, which gives the couple two chances to win instead of just one.
Photographs
Photos of everyone listed on the entry must be recent (no more than six months old), on a white background, with no sunglasses or colored contact lenses, 600 x 600 pixels (square) and under 240 KB. The face must measure 2.5 to 3.5 cm from the top of the head to the chin. The face and, for men, the ears must be clearly visible. For women who wear the hijab, the hijab must not hide any facial features. The photo must not be edited with photo-editing software.
The website will not accept a photo with the wrong dimensions (600 x 600 pixels, under 240 KB), but it cannot tell whether the content of the photo meets the other requirements. So it is advisable to go to a professional photo studio to take the picture.
Reasons for rejection
The most common mistake: submitting more than one entry under the same name, which leads to immediate disqualification.
Entering information incorrectly, or leaving out required information.
Failing to complete the required paperwork in the required time, or failing to travel within six months of receiving the visa after the interview, without giving the U.S. embassy in your country a convincing reason.
A photo that does not meet the requirements.
Failing the medical exam (tests for HIV, tuberculosis and syphilis, along with other vaccinations).
Steps to apply
Go to the diversity visa website, https://dvprogram.state.gov, during the registration period, and complete the information (it is easy to fill in). Keep your confirmation number, because that is how you check on the same website whether you won. If you lose the number, you can retrieve it by entering the email address you registered with.
The entry form, question by question
Full name: made up of family name / last name, first name, and father’s name as the middle name. Enter your name exactly as it is written in your passport. The rule effective 10 April 2026 requires valid passport details and a scan at entry, with limited exceptions.
Date of birth: day / month / year. Write it correctly, because it cannot be changed.
Gender: male / female.
City of birth: for example Cairo, Riyadh, Rabat or Amman.
Country of birth: for example Egypt, Tunisia, Syria or Sudan.
Country eligible for the program: the country of eligibility is different from where you live. If an applicant claims a country other than the country where they were born, that must be stated on the entry. The question is: “Is the country where you were born an eligible country?” Example: if your country is Egypt, which is eligible, choose “Yes” and do not answer the next question. If not, you must choose an eligible country (this applies if you come from an ineligible country but live in an eligible one, in which case choose the country where you currently live, for example an Egyptian born in Kuwait or a Tunisian born in Saudi Arabia). Palestinians have a special situation. For example, if you were born in Gaza, choose “No” in the first part of the question and then choose Egypt. Likewise, people from the West Bank choose “No” in the first part and then choose Jordan.
Applicant photo: details given above. In this field you upload the applicant’s photo only. The photos of your wife and children are uploaded later.
Mailing address: building number and street name / town / city / postal code (you may state that you do not have one). It is best to write the address correctly, although it is not important, since the result will be announced on the application site itself. But the address is recorded in the database.
Current residence: write the address where you live now.
Phone number: optional.
Email address: extremely important. If you lose your confirmation number, you can retrieve it by entering the email you registered with. Remember that you will not receive any message from immigration telling you whether you won, but after you win you can use it to follow your case by writing to immigration.
Highest level of education reached to date: you must choose one of the following, the highest you have achieved: (1) primary school only; (2) some high school, but no diploma; (3) high school degree (you graduated and received the certificate); (4) vocational school (graduates of industrial, commercial and agricultural schools); (5) some university courses, for those who studied for some years but did not graduate (and also for those who finished a two-year institute); (6) university degree; (7) started a master’s degree but have not finished it; (8) master’s degree; (9) started a doctorate but have not finished it; (10) doctorate.
Marital status: single, married, divorced, widowed, or legally separated. If you are married, you write “married” and are taken to another page to enter your wife’s details and upload her photo to your application. The same applies if the wife is the one submitting the form. Remember that you must write the details of your whole family even if some do not want to travel, because hiding any information leads to rejection, for example being married and writing “single”. If you are a widow or widower, do not enter the details of the deceased spouse. If you are legally separated, do not enter the details of the separated spouse.
Number of children: the entry must include the name, date and place of birth of your wife and all your legitimate children, as well as all legally adopted children and your spouse’s unmarried stepchildren who are under 21 on the date of the application. If you submit the electronic entry before your unmarried child turns 21, and the child turns 21 before the visa is issued, the child will still be given an entry visa and treated exactly like you.
Spouse details: failing to list your spouse will get the main applicant’s entry disqualified and the visa refused on interview day. You must list your spouse even if you are planning to divorce before applying for the visa.
Children’s details: name / date of birth / gender / country of birth / city of birth / photo.
Then review the information and submit the entry to receive the confirmation number. This number is extremely important, and you are not considered to have completed your registration and submitted your entry without it. Keep it, and check the website on the officially announced results date to find out whether you won. Write the number down or keep a photo of it on your device.
Documents you will need if you win
- Photos of the applicant and all traveling family members
- Birth certificates, translated
- High school certificate, translated (and any later educational certificate, translated)
- For married applicants: marriage contract, translated
- Police clearance certificate (“good conduct” certificate), translated
- Military service certificate, translated, for young men
- Experience certificate, translated, if you have one
- Copies of passports
All translations of the required documents must be certified translations.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Does the U.S. State Department or the Diversity Visa program announce the names of winners online, or email winners?
A: No. The State Department and the Diversity Visa program do not publish any names online or send any emails. You find out only through the program website, which tells you when you enter the confirmation number you received when you completed your registration.
Q: If I win, will the embassy interview be in English?
A: No. Interviews are conducted in Arabic in Arab countries.
Q: If I am married and I win, can I travel alone?
A: Of course. You can travel alone as a first step to prepare for the rest of the family, who can then join you as long as that happens within the validity of the visa, which is six months.
Q: I have no certificates at all. Can I still apply?
A: To apply for the lottery you need a high school diploma or its equivalent, meaning 12 years of state schooling.
Q: Is winning guaranteed?
A: Of course not. The selection is completely random and all applicants have equal chances, and there is no guarantee of winning, especially given the huge number of entrants. What is guaranteed is that your entry is accepted into the draw, because a very large number of applicants fail to get in due to mistakes on their forms.
Q: I am an Arab living outside my home country. Can I apply?
A: Of course. You can apply from anywhere in the world. You may choose to interview at the embassy in your home country or in the other country where you live.
Q: What do I gain if I win the lottery and move to America?
A: Winning means getting the permanent resident card (the “green card”), that is, the right to live lawfully in the United States, and with that right you can work or study there.
Q: If I win and travel, will a job be arranged for me?
A: No. The U.S. government does not provide jobs. Whoever wins has to take care of things on his or her own before traveling.
Q: I am engaged but not yet married. Can I apply together with my fiancée?
A: No. A fiancé or fiancée cannot be included with the main applicant. In other words, you can only apply as a family after marriage. But each of you can submit a separate entry, and if one of you wins, that person can add the other after the marriage takes place.
Q: Can someone who is inside the United States apply?
A: Yes. Anyone in the United States, or in any other eligible country, can apply.
Program numbers from the original 2021 article
- The number of applicants worldwide each year approaches 50 million.
- Applicants from the Arab world approach 10 million.
- Applicants from Egypt last year were about one million Egyptians.
- Egypt’s share of the lottery is about 3,500 to 5,000 people each year.
In 2005 the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill calling for the program to be abolished, on the grounds that “terrorists could exploit the program to enter the United States to plan attacks against American interests.” The bill was rejected.
Video: the lottery experience and emigrating to America
Video: how to apply in detail, with answers to common questions
Important warning
There are usually websites that offer to register your details for you, but they do not raise your chances of winning in any way, and the U.S. State Department warns people to be careful with these services. It always prefers that people submit their own entries. Other sites go further and set up fake websites that claim to deliver a green card and ask you to transfer money to bank accounts, or send emails regularly to random people in order to scam them.
Article originally published on 28 December 2021; updated on 3 October 2026.