The U.S. Department of State has announced a delay in the opening of the Diversity Visa (DV) 2027 Lottery, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery, which usually begins in the first week of October.
According to the Department, the registration dates for the DV-2027 program have not yet been released, but will be announced soon through the official website, travel.state.gov, and the Federal Register.
The Department also confirmed that a new USD 1 electronic registration fee will be introduced for all applicants, marking the first time an entry fee has been charged since the program began.
A final rule establishing the fee was published in the Federal Register on 16 September 2025 and took immediate effect. The Department said the fee aims to cover the costs of managing the lottery and to discourage fraudulent or speculative entries by third parties.
Previously, only those selected for a visa had to pay the USD 330 Diversity Visa application fee, which included administrative costs. Under the new system, the USD 1 registration fee will go toward managing the random selection process, while the USD 330 application fee will remain unchanged for now.
The Department expects the new measure to generate around $25 million in revenue annually and plans to review the application fee in future adjustments.
The DV Lottery (Green Card) provides up to 55,000 immigrant visas each year to individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Sri Lanka is among the countries whose citizens are eligible to apply for the program.
