The U.S. Department of State has introduced new rules for participation in the Diversity Visa Program, requiring applicants to hold a valid passport when submitting entries for the Green Card lottery.
The change will take effect on April 10. Under the updated rules, applicants must provide passport details during registration and upload a scanned copy of the page containing their photograph and personal information. Applications submitted without this information will not be accepted.
Authorities said exceptions may be granted in limited cases, such as for stateless individuals.
Officials said the new requirement is intended to combat fraud within the programme. According to the State Department, millions of suspicious applications are recorded each year. During the DV-2025 lottery alone, about 2.5 mln duplicate or fraudulent entries were identified.
Fraud schemes often involve third parties submitting applications on behalf of individuals without their consent and later demanding payment for assistance or for the confirmation number needed to track the application.
The new passport rule is expected to make such schemes significantly more difficult.
In addition, the programme will introduce a symbolic $1 registration fee aimed at reducing the number of random or fraudulent submissions.
According to the State Department, around 10 mln people worldwide take part in the lottery each year, competing for roughly 55,000 immigrant visas.
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