DV-2027 Green Card Lottery Registration Is Expected to Open Soon

Registration for the Green Card DV-2027 lottery was expected to begin in autumn 2025, but the entry period did not open at the usual time. The U.S. Department of State attributed the delay to changes to the programme and additional preparations, while the exact registration dates remained unknown for a long time. As the wait continued, applicants were left uncertain about when entries would open and whether the lottery would take place at all. People were preparing documents and photographs but could not plan their submissions or understand how much longer they would have to wait.

On 14 October 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California issued a preliminary injunction in Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Rubio, requiring the Department of State to ensure that DV-2027 takes place. The court subsequently granted the parties’ joint motion and allowed a further two weeks for technical and organisational preparations. We published details of the ruling and the revised schedule on our Telegram channel.

After this long wait, there are now specific deadlines and milestones to help applicants prepare. Registration for the Green Card DV-2027 lottery is expected to open very soon. However, the court ruling does not mean that registration is already open: the U.S. Department of State must officially announce the exact entry dates and final eligibility requirements. Below, we have brought together the key stages and entry preparation advice to help you check your documents in advance.

The timeline below covers the main DV-2027 stages announced following the court-approved extension, from publication of the entry requirements to the end of visa issuance. You can discuss these dates, the required documents and preparation of the entry form in our Telegram chat about legal U.S. immigration and the Green Card lottery. You can ask questions about your circumstances and exchange preparation experiences with other entrants. Always check the final deadlines and entry requirements against official Department of State announcements.

As well as checking the dates, entrants need to understand how to submit an entry. Do not simply reuse all the information prepared last year: your passport may have been replaced, your marital status may have changed, and your photograph may no longer be recent enough. Before registering, check your prepared documents and information against the final DV-2027 instructions. Three points currently deserve particular attention: payment, passport details and the photograph. We recommend checking each one before completing the online form.

We recommend having your Green Card photograph taken at a professional photography studio instead of taking it yourself. You can choose a studio from our list of recommended photography studios in different Russian cities. Tell the photographer beforehand that the photograph is for the Green Card lottery and that no retouching is allowed: they must not smooth skin, alter your appearance, or remove or add details in Photoshop or other editing software. You can use the free U.S. Department of State Photo Tool to crop the finished photograph. The tool helps with cropping but does not check whether the photograph meets every lottery requirement. If there are problems with the background, lighting or head position, a new photograph must be taken. Detailed explanations in Russian are available in our guide to preparing a Green Card lottery photograph.

Entries are submitted online through the official Department of State portal, dvprogram.state.gov. The portal also lets entrants check results from previous lotteries using the Confirmation Number for an earlier entry. The presence of a Check Status button does not, by itself, mean that a new entry can be submitted. Before applying, make sure that the entry period specifically for DV-2027 has been announced and read the submission rules carefully: the opening and closing dates, eligibility requirements and instructions for completing the online form in the Department of State system.

At the time this article was prepared, on 19 October 2026, the official Green Card portal displayed a notice stating that the DV-2026 entry period had closed. Once the U.S. Department of State publishes its announcement, the portal’s home page will be updated with the DV-2027 registration dates and a link to the current instructions for entrants. When registration opens, you will be able to submit a lottery entry there. After selection has taken place and the results have been published, you can use Entrant Status Check to find out whether your entry has been selected.

If you started preparing for the lottery last year, now is the time to bring everything needed for your entry together: entrant information, documents and recent photographs. When registration opens, you will have the necessary details to hand and can complete the official form without rushing. Start with these four steps:

We will contact Go for Travel clients who previously placed an advance order for DV-2027 entry assistance individually. We will ask them to check the information in their prepared forms and update photographs according to when they were taken. Even if you have already sent us your documents, we will need to confirm before submission that the information is still current and meets the final registration requirements.

Our colleague Sergey accepts requests for Green Card lottery entry assistance through Telegram. Contact Sergey: he will explain the preparation process, tell you which documents are needed, answer your questions and accept your request for assistance. You can contact him in advance to allow time to gather your documents and check your information before registration opens. Messaging Sergey does not register you for the lottery: an entry can only be officially submitted through the Department of State system after registration opens and before it closes under the published schedule.