There are big changes being proposed to the Green Card lottery. The changes will probably be implemented in time for the DV2021 entry period this October.
It DOES NOT affect DV2019 or DV2020 in ANY way.
You can watch the video below for a full explanation of the changes:
I would really like to hear from people whether they think this is a good or bad thing – leave me a comment below, or on the YouTube page.
The official site about the law change is here.
June 22, 2019 at 01:56
good thing
June 24, 2019 at 16:31
Good luck to everyone!
June 22, 2019 at 02:14
Hello Britsimon, I think the changes is very vital and I’m so happy about that, I just watch the video on u tube!
I’m a victim because it’s 4 months now after I went for my interview and I was to get my visa in not more than a month but because an additional information was added to my dv 260 form without my knowledge, l’m a winner but I don’t know when my visa will be issued because it is in administrative process
June 22, 2019 at 02:35
It is good to those who are in a position to meet the requirements i.e needy people at the time of application are excluded in this programme definitely because if it were that the time I participated in the lottery back 2016 those were the requirements definatly I wouldn’t have applied.
June 22, 2019 at 04:43
The changes will probably be implemented in time for the DV2021 entry period this October.
It DOES NOT affect DV2019 or DV2020 in ANY way.
Are you already living on 2021 timeline?
June 22, 2019 at 11:46
Since your entry was for 2019 you won’t be affected by this new changes mad to the lottery
June 22, 2019 at 14:17
Giving anyone power over you is unwise…
June 22, 2019 at 22:11
Hi I want to apply and my family husband and 4 children even the children must have a passport?
June 23, 2019 at 04:33
No.
June 23, 2019 at 18:33
Bro ,u mean u are 2019 winner right? So which information was added to your ds 260 without your knowledge please ,it can be of help to some of us winners..
June 22, 2019 at 02:16
I’m a winner of dv lottery 2019, still waiting for my visa
June 22, 2019 at 07:22
Akua,please am from Ghana can I have ur contact for some questions
June 22, 2019 at 15:47
Alright… 0276958128
June 22, 2019 at 19:56
Never give your phone number or open up the development of your visa situation to him. You cant trust people on this
June 23, 2019 at 07:10
Alright…. Thank you very much
June 22, 2019 at 04:12
As for me this major change of having a passport will be very tough, because it is not easy to have passport and with the cost which is very expensive. Then they should also consider the visa fee whether you succeeded or not visa fee is not refundable, that one also is exploitation from your part, the bottom line is you should encourage people to participate in the process as per the way we use to play it.
June 22, 2019 at 14:21
Yes, the cost of the passport will be a problem for some. But as for the other fees, if someone cannot afford those fees, then perhaps they cannot move halfway across the world…
June 22, 2019 at 05:17
The changes are highly welcome, people will now participate in a responsible way. The changes are very Good. thanks
June 22, 2019 at 05:32
I think is good mother’s e I was thinking if they can initiate code apart from confirmation code and case numbers.if they can allow winners to pick their code when ever they sign in to ds260.Mr Brit are they going to exclude social media account?
June 22, 2019 at 14:25
They are not excluding social media accounts, they are simply gathering that info to make better background checks.
June 22, 2019 at 05:56
This is great news for those who are really determined to win. I’m from Ukraine, and it is one of the most frauding country because of those agencies that have database with people’s info and apply for them without even asking the permission. This drastically reduces my chances to win. Now I hope this will be over and my chances will increase. I even wish they required not only my passport but also my family members for more detailed application. What also could be implemented is charging some money for submitting the entry, for those who are interested 100$ for example wouldn’t mean anything, but those who are submitting entries just for fun, will think if they really need it.
June 22, 2019 at 09:13
Hi Brit.I think it s not a bad think it’s main eliminate a lot of fraud
June 22, 2019 at 14:28
Well yes this will be a big help in Ukraine – I agree. But $100 fee for entering – that is a large amount in some countries.
June 22, 2019 at 16:47
Very true its alot like in my country Kenya some government jobs you get net pay of around ksh.12000 equivalent to approximately $120
June 22, 2019 at 17:40
Per week, or month?
June 22, 2019 at 17:40
And how much does it cost to apply for a passport?
June 24, 2019 at 05:44
Per month.Passport is 4000 (40usd)
June 24, 2019 at 13:48
Wow.
June 27, 2019 at 00:43
Per month!
June 22, 2019 at 06:31
My comment has been submitted to Regulations.gov:
Requirements to provide a valid passport number at the time of the DV Program entry is justifiable in my opinion but failure (incompetence) to find effective methods to prevent fraud should not be a reason for penalizing DV participants because they are human (error-prone).
My first name in Cyrillic is Алексей but a transliteration in official documents varies – sometimes it’s Alexei, other time it’s Aleksei.
When I filled out an eDV form there is no surprise that I misspelled transliteration of my name without any intention to cheat the system.
When I won I put my name on the ds-260 according to passport data. I finally got my green card and it would be a sad story if such a small mistake would have led to the loss of such a chance.
With modern methods and algorithms (e.g. Deep Learning) it wouldn’t be a problem to detect most of the fraudulent activity if take into consideration that you collected a huge amount of data for all the history of the Diversity Visa Lottery. To have to deal with false positives there should be several people who check those applications manually and crosscheck each other.
June 22, 2019 at 14:31
Thanks for submitting a comment there.
June 22, 2019 at 06:51
It is a great news for us who had dream of going to USA because this changes will limit the entry entirely for those who are using database for people without their knowledge and increases the chances for those who have passport .it good
June 22, 2019 at 08:49
Changes sound Really Great !!!
Sorts out the “wheat from the chaff”
Should’ve been ages ago – I got angry when you said people got through fraudulently i.e. multiple entries!!!
How dare they – same time…why didn’t I think of that?
June 22, 2019 at 14:39
When they get caught, they can get a lifetime ban.
June 23, 2019 at 08:53
What happens if they had made it through – as you said in the video – and they found out later?
How can they get a lifetime ban when they are through the “gate” – multiple entries with slightly different typos enabled that ? That’s “genius” and simultaneously unfair
How is that dealt with when it comes light?
June 23, 2019 at 09:55
Disqualified at interview.
June 22, 2019 at 09:15
Good Day Brit, please when did you think US will wave this banned placed on Nigerians on DV Lottery
June 22, 2019 at 14:40
Probably never. There are already enough Nigerians entering without DV, so they are not eligible for the program – just like a number of other countries.
June 22, 2019 at 09:37
It’s a good idea if they will check passport details before submitting registration form. “Agents” can still put fake passport information to submit the form.
June 22, 2019 at 14:42
A fake passport number will guarantee denial.
August 11, 2019 at 12:03
Thats good things to use passport during registration of dv2021 bcz it reduce exploitation and increases the winning chance to those who meet all requirement to enter in the United State…so happy happy
June 22, 2019 at 09:39
Thanks for the info Brit. Overall the chances of winning are usually very slim. So with the passport requirement for entry, I think less people will participate and their chances will increase. Better than having 15 million entries each year with a chance to win almost non existent. My take
June 22, 2019 at 14:42
Yup.
June 22, 2019 at 09:43
I think this is overall a good idea.
We are 5 months away from october, it is almost a sufficient amount of time to obtain a passport in most countries (assuming that everybody is aware of these changes right now). But after all, if someone wants to immigrate anywhere, the first thing to do is to obtain a passport. So it’s better to obtain the passport now than later.
Futhermore, this emphasizes the fact that people need to file their applications by themselves, no more agents should be used to do so, because agents could now collect your passport informations and do whatever they want with it.
Agents used to “mystify” the dv process, just to get more cilents. One thing they frequently act on is the photo requirement. They used to say that we need high quality camera (which they have) to obtain photos that complies with dv requirement, and this is obviously bullshit. Nowadays, most of the smartphones produce high quality photos which qualifies for the dv.
Now we just need to spread the information, that chances are you will need a valid passport to enter the dv next year. Even if this bill is not adopted, people will end up with useless valid passports (which is not harmful) , and if the bill is adopted, those who really want to immigrate to the US will manage to obtain a valid passport.
This could drastically reduces the number of applicants for the dv2021, but am I pretty sure that we will have the old 15 millions applicants for dv2022 because people really want to try their luck on the dv.
It looks unfair but it makes sense to me.
June 22, 2019 at 11:21
Yea I think that too . We might see a massive cut in DV2021 but then everyone will get a passport by DV2022 . Because it’s a lifetime opportunity and most people will do whatever it takes to apply .
June 22, 2019 at 14:44
I am doing what I can to spread the information…
June 22, 2019 at 10:05
While I agree that this is a step in the right direction to curb fraud, I still think it will also force out legit applicants in countries where the process to obtain passports is not as easy.
My country is one such example. Yes, once you have everything, you can get the passport in two weeks, but in order to apply you have to have a document which can take a long time to obtain. I got lucky that I got it in 3 months. There are people who have been waiting for 3 years!!
Also, people usually don’t apply for passport unless they’re expecting to use it in the near future. So a lot of people tend to not have them handy.
I guess I have mixed feelings about this esp since I come from a low applicant number country and this will probably adversely affect the applicant number even more.
June 22, 2019 at 14:45
Yes, it will be hard on some people… that is unfortunate.
June 22, 2019 at 10:25
Hi Brit.if your interview is already scheduled this month and your wife has put to birth 2 month ago.for now the new born baby has only the birth certificate and the passport has been apply waiting for the immigration to issue the pass doc.what is your advice in this case?I don’t know if this can have an influence on my case ? Or if the baby doesn’t have a chance for a visa?please assist.thank you for a great job you are doing.God bless you.
June 22, 2019 at 14:46
You must let the embassy know about the baby – the child will need a medical and a DS260. Contact the embassy.
June 22, 2019 at 10:57
This procedure can affect many chances to those people who live in africa especialy like my country eritrea. Most of the people play dv while they are in Eritrea then when they win they are supposed to flee or escape from the country. Becouse no one is allowed to be given a pasport especially youth, but when they reach another country they are allowed to be given a pasport applying from the embasy which is in the second country. So is that mean now they can’t play DV if they don’t have a pasport and what if they are refugees living in other country.
June 22, 2019 at 14:47
Yes – this will be tough on young people from Eritrea.
June 22, 2019 at 14:56
Yes very tough brit. I am lucky one of dv2019 winner already approved with my family, thank you again for your great info. I used it for a year, i always tell some eritreans to follow you to get geniun information.
September 20, 2019 at 13:17
Is Ghana ban DV 2012/2019….?
September 20, 2019 at 22:57
No
June 23, 2019 at 00:19
Yeah lulu haftey…our country will b out of z DV program until the dictator leave our home land…lucky me to be 2020 winner but i feel bit for my people…ደቂ ኤረ ዓደይ ኣጆና ??
June 23, 2019 at 00:25
r u elilta frm computer engineering??
June 22, 2019 at 11:13
That’s generally a good change for the DV lottery program . It’ll reduce many many frauds and get rid of the agents . But also on the other side , many people will miss their chances just because they didn’t know about the new procedure until October , and I’ll be too late for them to apply and get a passport . I believe the 2021 DV will have a massive reduce in applicants , which might give more chances to who can apply ( passport holders ) . Generally it’s a positive a good change , but I feel sorry for those who will not find out about it until it’s late , and for those in poor areas that have difficulties to get a passport .
*You might have already seen this comment in your YouTube video .
June 22, 2019 at 13:25
From now to October if you want to apply for passport you will. May be you are memeber of those agencies who know? lol
June 22, 2019 at 14:54
@Tandetat. That is a strange comment.
June 22, 2019 at 14:48
Thanks – yes I did!
June 22, 2019 at 16:38
Am sorry
June 22, 2019 at 11:18
Dear Brit, thank you so much for this piece of valuable information. To me personally it a super great news as will sure clean up lots of fraud or invalid cases.
I have a question , if someone has filed bankruptcy and it is not possible for him or her to apply for a passport due to the bankruptcy status, will this affect the application for this year ?
Thank you !
June 22, 2019 at 14:49
If a person cannot get a passport, they will not be able to enter the lottery.
June 23, 2019 at 11:23
Thank you Brit for your confirmation. It means that my sister end will have one application only moving forward as the husband has filed bankruptcy. Thank God the passport thing only imposes on the applicant not the derivatives else my sister won’t secure any chance at all !
Overall, I am happy and excited with the new rules as it will reduce significantly the entries this year 🙂
June 22, 2019 at 12:19
Will these changes has to pass to congress for approval?? If yes,the DV will not affected..The laws that govern the DV will not changed. Mark my word..DV 2021 forms will be the same as always..No passport details will be required
June 22, 2019 at 13:00
Dis they need Congress approval to add the social media section in DS-260 ?? No !
I believe those are changes that an administration can make without needing the Congress approval .
June 22, 2019 at 14:52
@Prince. Correct.
June 22, 2019 at 14:51
No they don’t need congress approval. It describes why in the official post.
June 22, 2019 at 13:19
Hi Brit,
The DV lottery itself has no future. This changes will affect some of us who have been renewing our passport for long without traveling. We wanted to get a perfect opportunity before renewing our passport. Now entering your passport information does not guarantee that you will win. You can register for about 5 years without winning and still be spending money renewing your passport. I hope this changes does now remind Trump of ending the lottery.
June 22, 2019 at 14:53
Hahaha.
June 22, 2019 at 13:27
Sir my suggestion if you can do the same thing to KCC let them ask ti provid diploma during entry period
June 22, 2019 at 13:34
Why? You can choose between high school degree or work experience. Some people maybe don’t have an high school degree or college degree but still they work hard and have experience.
June 22, 2019 at 14:55
No – because that is a requirement at interview, not entry.
June 22, 2019 at 15:44
0276958128
June 22, 2019 at 15:56
Thanks Simon. I think its fair. It will prevent duplicate entries and will ensure that its only genuine applicants can apply, which will increase chances for those that really need it. In short, people enter the DV lottery with the hope of winning, if fraudulent entries can be remove, they will stand better chance. So fingers crossed.
June 22, 2019 at 19:17
Agreed. But tough for those that have to pay to obtain the passport, only with a small chance of being able to use it.
June 22, 2019 at 16:04
[email protected]
June 22, 2019 at 17:45
woo! so this mean that if you do not have passport you should abstain yourself from playing dv for me this changes will not really be suitable for low income country that her citizens are not able to afford money for passport
June 22, 2019 at 17:50
So Brit why if my close relatives want to play and do not have passport and I play him/her with my passport number will it be acceptable?
June 22, 2019 at 18:03
Do you understand the meaning of FRAUD ???
June 22, 2019 at 19:11
No!!!!
June 22, 2019 at 18:01
this a Welcoming Step.I notice this earlier.
i want and encourage this 100%.
i even want the department of state to Ask for scan record of Highest academic examination,plus High school diploma,and if married,scan record of marriage certificate.
with these three in place( Passport number and detail,highest state examination record,Marriage certificate if married}
there will be no fraud.
Real winners come 2021
June 22, 2019 at 19:12
No. The law says someone can meet the education standard needed by the interview, not the entry. They might also meet the standard by work experience. So – for both those reasons they cannot ask for academic proof.
June 22, 2019 at 18:03
So Brits this rules also apply that if you do not play with your spouse while submitting your initial Dvlottery form you are not allow to add him on your program after been selected?
June 22, 2019 at 19:13
That is ALREADY the case! If you are legally married you have to include the spouse.
June 22, 2019 at 20:14
Good changes but am looking at this in two ways;
1. The number of entries is likely not to be reduced at all.
People will get to know about it during the entry but will still not give up.They will put in fake passport numbers which most will be selected and get denial during interview.Others too will enter for the fun of the lottery with fake passport numbers.
2. After dv21,the agents will rise again
People will still go to them with their passport information because most people are lazy to enter on their.Once they get this infor,they will keep it and enters it every year without their knowledge.
I only see this new changes reducing entries for dv2021 and maybe dv2022. Agents cycle will definately continue after this 2years unless they introduce finger print entry..lol or some entry money charges say $50 which of course the agents wont use their cash for that.
June 22, 2019 at 21:44
1. Don’t you think there will be some people that don’t enter because they cannot afford to get a passport?
2. Yes, if people are foolish enough to give the agents even more details, then there will be a return to proactive entries.
June 22, 2019 at 20:20
I think this is excellent news, wish this was done sooner. Now no one can create a duplicate entry for you and get you disqualified. Have to say it has never crossed my mind that people can use spelling mistakes for multiple entries. Well, I am glad no one will be able to that either anymore. True, it is not fair to those people who will have difficulty obtaining their passports but overall for the majority of people who apply year after year this is a good change.
June 22, 2019 at 22:38
can a usa green card holder enter to canada without a visa I mean only with the green card and the original passport from my country
June 23, 2019 at 04:33
I don’t know.
June 23, 2019 at 04:59
When can we start applying for the 2021 DV lottery?
June 23, 2019 at 09:51
October
June 23, 2019 at 13:40
Mr Brit,
this changes will affect number of people especially in africa whereby requesting passport requires huge amount for many.this will also in my opinion reduces holes tremendously and will speed up this lottery. Morever; this is in favor to those who are really very committed themselves but for young africans dreams are now ………..BYE BYE.
Generally idea sounds good but in other hand will affect so MANY PPLE.
June 23, 2019 at 15:28
This very shocked indeed but in other way sound good but will mostly affect people from pour country coz is n’t easy to get a pasport in this kind of country we coming from!!!but they say never give up!!
June 23, 2019 at 20:44
Thanks for your kind effort can’t agree more and I would like to share my comments in points to be more specified :
1- as you said many illegal agents used to register for a single applicant may be sometimes 50 times for huge amount of money in return so the passport number will end this problem.
2- in the DV Lottery application you need to be more aware of the applicant qualifications and certifications so the market needs over there will absorb that amount of immigrants with maximization of usage for both the country and the immigrants who will no longer be overload on country.
3- no error in name or other details such as birth day date supposed to be allowed to reduce fraud.
4- if there are any other privilege of the applicant such as availability of initial support on the time they will reach USA such as available housing from a first family members .
June 23, 2019 at 21:13
1. Yep.
2. Immigrant from the DV lottery are statistically known to be more highly qualified than the general USA population. Also, someone starting from scratch will often work hard to become successful. Arguably, the immigrant culture in that way has driven America’s success.
3. Right now (apart from embassies that are more strict because fraud is “expected”), they allow minor mistakes (1 or 2). Fraud cases tend to have a lot of “mistakes”.
4. That is already part of the rules (public charge).
June 24, 2019 at 00:00
Hello brit
On 2017 october when i applied for dv2019 i put there I’m married and my wife she is U.S citizens but we get our certification official marriage on March 2018 before i knew the results for.dv2019 and on my ds260 i made also im married and everything is ok , but do you think there’s any issue with me or gonna be any problem on my interview because when i apploed inwasnt married officially
June 24, 2019 at 05:14
It can cause disqualification – it is up to the CO.
June 24, 2019 at 05:47
Brit does this change mean you must have a degree for you to enter the lottery?
June 24, 2019 at 07:49
No. You need to have completed high school or have work experience that qualifies.
June 24, 2019 at 10:27
I’m a 2020 winner from EU, and I think that for most western europeans this won’t change much. Some people might lose out if they only find out at the start of the entry period that they need a passport. I think the ease of signing up is one of the great things of the lottery, but I also suspect many people enter without fully thinking through what would happen if they win. This is understandable, as the odds of winning are low, but it also means that a lot of these selectees probably don’t go through with the process or end up stuck halfway through when they cant afford the fees for example.
I expect this change to result in a lower entry count in the first year, then numbers returning to normal. If more people who get selected go through the process succesfully, we might see less holes, although initial holes (early disqualifications) will be up due to stricter regulations and access to more data ahead of time. I hope the new process will deter fraudulent entries from agents, but I suspect that they don’t care that much if their entrants get disqualified en masse as long as they make money from sign-ups and a few winners.
June 24, 2019 at 10:41
Definitely a good thing
June 25, 2019 at 15:30
Hi brit. I have a question. What will happen if an applicant of 2021 submit an entry with his passport then he looses his passport. Will there be a problem if he is selected. Will there be a problem if he submits ds 260 form with his new passport even if he has no the copy of an old passport?
Thank you
June 25, 2019 at 19:54
He would have to show proof that he once had the old passport.
June 26, 2019 at 03:55
If he has no proof, he will be disqualified . Right?
June 26, 2019 at 05:49
Can we stop wasting time thinking about a scenario that hasn’t happened.
June 25, 2019 at 14:27
Excellent move. Minimize cases of fraudulent entries and give a chance to truly deserving applicants.
June 25, 2019 at 17:37
This change is a “Blessing in a Disguise.”
Because the number of applicants way too high
Example: Eritrea
Chance of winning is around 1:100
[2018DV Applicant 50,000 winners 500]
Which means 99 disappointments out of every 100 applicants in a year.
[out of 50,000 there were 45,500 not selected]
Not only that, many might keep their life on-hold hoping to win and with such ratio it is more of a distraction than real hope.
But now, I wish this new procedure to bring the ratio to 1:10 so that many can focus in what is at hand.
June 25, 2019 at 20:00
Actually, you are overestimating the chances of selection under the current situation. A 1:10 ratio is massively optimistic!
June 26, 2019 at 11:34
I love this big change.now the system won’t be bloated with fake entries
June 26, 2019 at 13:10
Brits I think the lost passport issue that Steve is talking about is tricky
Look at this
Maybe the best way is taking pictures of the bio data page of your passport so that can serve as proof
It is very likely that many applicants will face a similar situation
And that will be disastrous if you have no proof of ever possessing the old one?♂️
June 26, 2019 at 17:52
I already said – photocopy.
And anyway – MANY applicants should not be losing their passports!
June 26, 2019 at 13:49
Hi Mr. Brit, God Richly Bless you and your family for getting time to keep this site which has been very useful to many people running. The proposed change to DV will help in reducing fraud in the system. But it will also take away many people from Africa out.
In my country Ghana, apart from the cost of acquiring passport which many people cannot afford to get, the frustration involve in getting it deter many people from attempting to get one.
I remember reading an article that said that about 70% of American do not have passport (I stand for correction) may be they don’t want to travel. In Africa I don’t think the percentage of people that have passport will exceed 5% because of the difficulty involve in getting a passport.
People only struggle extra mile to get money for passport only when they get an opportunity to travel.
Yes this is going to increase the chance of those of us with passport but the majority of qualified applicants will be automatically taken out because of poverty.
I think flushing out those with database and the agent is a laudable idea but they should not close the door for poor innocent Africans because of those fraudulent selfish individuals.
Anyway it will increase my chance of been selected for DV 2021. Lo!
June 26, 2019 at 17:59
Ghana is almost the worst country for multiple entries, fraud, agents, and the worst denial rate. Frankly anything that deters that sort of activity is a good thing for Ghana and the rest of Africa. Honest Ghanaians will benefit from this rule change, but yes, some people will be excluded. That is the price I suppose of the abuse we have seen in Ghana for the past several years (which many Ghanaians have supported).
June 26, 2019 at 22:42
Yeah, people with passport like myself are going to benefit from DV2021. So let wait and seen
June 26, 2019 at 16:55
*Americans
June 27, 2019 at 00:46
What is the level of education that is needed for one to be eligible to apply.
June 27, 2019 at 01:03
Please read the FAQ
June 27, 2019 at 17:12
My passport expires in November 19Th 2019,I’m I eligible if I apply with my passport number before the expiry date?
June 27, 2019 at 21:16
Yes
June 28, 2019 at 19:50
Hi Brit, my first name is spelt ” junior ” in my educational documents but on the national ? ,passport and dv entry it’s spelt ”juniour ”
Can this cause problems or maybe denial when seeking the immigrant visa ?
June 28, 2019 at 22:32
Probably not.
June 29, 2019 at 15:13
Good news but I think if there is no mechanism to detect which is a fake passport number and which is a correct passport number pple will still create their own passport number jxt to be able to register which ‘ll still contribute to the high number of entries.
June 29, 2019 at 20:00
They can of course detect that. Once they have winners they can check against the issuing authority database for each country.
June 30, 2019 at 12:11
Very well then that is not going to reduce the number of entries but rather the lucky ones who ‘ll be selected stand the chance of been interviewed and getting visa cos de fake ones ‘ll be cross check and be left out. I pray I this time I ‘ll win to get to my dream land.
June 29, 2019 at 23:39
Slt,les changements sont des belles nouvelles pour les participants au dv lottery et que jamais être sélectionnés dans ce programme à cause des non-participants .
June 30, 2019 at 00:45
English please.