The United States Department of State has announced new changes affecting how foreigners apply for the Diversity Visa lottery programme, commonly known as the green card lottery.
In a final rule published on March 10, the department said applicants must now present a valid and unexpired passport when submitting their applications. The rule targets fraudulent entries that have affected the programme in previous years.
The passport requirement first appeared in 2019 during the administration of Donald Trump. However, a federal court struck it down in 2022 after legal challenges.
The U.S. government has now reintroduced the rule as part of broader reforms designed to strengthen verification procedures and reduce abuse of the programme. According to the new regulation, the rule will take effect 30 days after the official notice was published.
Applicants will also be required to pay a small application fee of Ksh129 when submitting their entries.
Although the government did not specify the exact date when the programme will reopen, officials indicated that applications for the 2027 diversity visa entry period could resume soon.
Authorities explained that the temporary delay in reopening the registration process will give applicants adequate time to obtain valid passports before applying.
Officials said the change was necessary after investigations revealed widespread misuse of identity documents in the programme. Data from previous application cycles showed that nearly 17 percent of submissions were rejected because of false or suspicious identity documents.
Besides the passport requirement, the updated diversity visa application form introduces minor changes in wording. The form now replaces the word “gender” with “sex” and substitutes “age” with “date of birth.”
The Diversity Visa programme faced additional disruption in December last year when it was temporarily suspended.
The decision followed a directive from Kristi Noem after a deadly shooting incident at Brown University. The attack occurred inside a classroom and resulted in the deaths of two undergraduate students.
Following the incident, Noem announced that the programme would be paused as authorities reviewed its security implications.
“At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 programme to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous programme,” Noem said at the time.
Despite the pause, U.S. officials have indicated that the Diversity Visa programme will resume after the new safeguards are fully implemented.
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