On March 11, 2026, the Department of State (DOS) published a final rule amending regulations governing the Diversity Visa (DV) program.
The new amendments require a DV petitioner to provide valid, unexpired passport information and to upload a scan of the biographic and signature page in the electronic entry form or to otherwise indicate that the applicant is exempt from this requirement.
Additionally, the Department is standardizing and amending its regulations to add the word “shall” to simplify guidance for consular officers; ensure the use of the term “sex” in lieu of “gender”; and replace the term “age” in the DV regulations with the phrase “date of birth.”
DOS noted that it has historically encountered millions of fraudulent DV program entries, including entries submitted by third parties, some of them criminal enterprises, on behalf of individuals without their knowledge or consent. In DV-2025, for example, DOS discovered 2.5 million fraudulent entries. “Unauthorized third parties often contact these individuals, inform them of the opportunity to apply for a diversity immigrant visa (‘‘DV’’), and withhold the entry information unless the individual pays a large fee or agrees to participate in fraudulent activities. Upon submitting an entry, an entrant receives a unique confirmation number, without which it is impossible to confirm whether the entrant was selected to continue the DV process,” DOS noted. The agency advises entrants to retain the confirmation number and notes that DOS “will not replace or provide it in the future.”
