If you’ve been refreshing dvlottery.state.gov every day since October waiting for DV-2027 registration to open, you’re not alone — and you’re not missing something obvious. As of March 2026, registration has still not opened, and the situation might have become more complicated than a simple technical delay.

Here’s the full breakdown of what has happened, in chronological order.

The $1 Fee: The First Sign of Change (September 2025)

The first hint that DV-2027 would be different came on September 16, 2025, when the State Department published a final rule in the Federal Register introducing a mandatory $1 electronic registration fee for all DV-2027 applicants.

This was a historic first — the DV lottery has always been free to enter. The State Department’s rationale was threefold: to distribute administrative costs more fairly across all registrants (rather than just the 55,000 who ultimately win), to reduce speculative and fraudulent entries, and to generate revenue (they believe to be ~$25 million annually) to fund system upgrades and security improvements.

For most applicants, the fee itself is not a hardship. However, for applicants in countries with limited access to electronic payment systems or international banking, even a $1 fee can create a practical barrier. Critics have raised concerns that this works against the program’s original goal of broadening immigration diversity.

Technically, adding a payment gateway to dvlottery.state.gov required significant development work — and this is widely believed to be one contributor to the delay in opening registration. Why is it a lot of work? Well as well as taking the payment in the entry system there is the handling of the payments (millions of dollars) all the way through the process to ensure that the collected fees are put into the right buckets and controlled appropriately. Government accounting is complex, and many people would be required to implement such a change.

Additionally there is also a change being implemented for the Passport rule. It seems almost certain that the next lottery period will require an valid unexpired passport for the principal entrant, and again, system changes will be required to all the systems where that new information will be stored and then used in the background checking process. The passport rule itself was finalized and published in the Federal Register – so it will happen, but again, this is not a simple five minute change.

The State Department’s Statement: “As Soon As Practicable” (November 5, 2025)

On November 5, 2025 — the date when registration would normally have been closing for the year — the State Department published a notice on travel.state.gov confirming that registration had not opened and giving no specific timeline for when it would.

The statement read:

“The Department is implementing certain changes to the Diversity Visa (DV) entry process. We will announce the start date for the DV-2027 registration period as soon as practicable.”

The notice did include one reassurance: the visa application period for DV-2027 selectees would remain October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, unchanged.

This was also the moment when unofficial websites began circulating false claims that registration was open. The State Department explicitly warned the public to use only dvlottery.state.gov. This warning is as relevant today as it was then.

The Full Program Freeze (December 23, 2025)

The situation escalated dramatically in late 2025 following two violent incidents in New England: a shooting at Brown University and the killing of a professor at MIT. Authorities named a suspect believed to have obtained US permanent residency through the DV lottery.

On December 23, 2025, the State Department issued a new notice announcing an immediate pause on all visa issuances to diversity immigrant visa applicants. The official explanation cited the need to review screening and vetting protocols across the entire DV program.

Around the same time:

  • DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced the pause publicly via social media
  • USCIS directed adjudicators to place a hold on all pending DV adjustment of status applications, including associated applications for work authorisation and advance parole (travel documents), although I think USCIS relaxed their position on issuing greencards for newly entered immigrants
  • Affected applicants were told they may be required to attend new or repeat interviews as part of an “in-depth review” of each case

The scale of impact is significant. DV-2026 selectees who had been through interviews, received approvals, and were awaiting visa issuance found themselves frozen. People mid-way through adjustment of status applications inside the US had their cases paused. Even ancillary benefits — the ability to work legally, the ability to travel — were suspended.

We can’t be sure that the hold/pause have impact to the DV-2027 entry period, and really it should be a totally separate issue, but perhaps there are some impacts behind the scenes that we cannot know.

Where Things Stand Today (March 2026)

As of the date of this post, travel.state.gov shows no updates beyond the November 5 and December 23 notices. The DV-2027 registration window has not opened. Visa issuances for DV-2026 remain paused.

It is important to note what this freeze is — and is not:

It is NOT an abolition of the DV program. The Diversity Visa program is established by the Immigration Act of 1990. Eliminating it requires an Act of Congress. No such legislation has passed.

It IS an executive branch action. This means it can be reversed by the executive branch, extended indefinitely, or challenged in court. Legal challenges to DV freezes have succeeded before — during a previous administration, federal courts ordered the government to resume processing for applicants whose visas would expire due to administrative delays.

As we know, legal challenges are being filed soon by Red Eagle Law, and the Immpact Litigation group. The lawsuit by Red Eagle Law has closed registration and will be filed very soon, so if you want to be represented on one of the group lawsuits you should read the terms for the Immpact lawsuit here.

What Should You Do?

If you were planning to register for DV-2027:

  • Monitor travel.state.gov for any announcement
  • Do NOT submit entries to any unofficial site — these are scams
  • Subscribe to updates from reliable sources (like this blog and my YouTube channel)

If you are a DV-2026 selectee with a frozen case:

  • Keep all documentation: confirmation numbers, case numbers, appointment letters, NVC correspondence
  • Be aware of the September 30, 2026 deadline — visas and adjustments cannot carry over to the next fiscal year
  • Consider consulting a licensed immigration attorney about your specific situation and options
  • Monitor court cases that may challenge the freeze

For everyone:
Stay patient, stay informed, and be sceptical of any unofficial source claiming to have special information. The DV community is understandably anxious right now — which also makes it a target for misinformation and scams.

Summary Timeline

DateEvent
September 16, 2025State Dept publishes final rule introducing $1 registration fee
Early October 2025DV-2027 registration window fails to open as expected
November 5, 2025State Dept confirms delay; says dates will be announced “as soon as practicable”
December 23, 2025State Dept pauses ALL DV visa issuances following New England shootings
December 2025USCIS places hold on all pending DV adjustment applications
March 11, 2026Passport Rule published in the Federal Register – effective April 10.
March 2026Registration still not open; program-wide freeze continues

I’ll update this post the moment there is any new official information. For video breakdowns and analysis, head over to the YouTube channel.

Have questions or updates? Drop them in the comments below.