United States: State Department Releases FY 2026 Diversity Visa Lottery Winners Tomorrow
May 2, 2025
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At a glance
- Starting at noon ET on May 3, 2025, lottery entrants must check the State Department’s official Diversity Visa Lottery website to learn whether they have been chosen to apply for a diversity visa. Entrants may experience delays accessing the official website due to heavy user traffic.
- The State Department does not send direct notification to lottery winners.
- Selected entrants can submit an application for permanent residence during FY 2026, which begins on October 1, 2025.
A closer look
On May 3, 2025, the U.S. State Department will release the winners of the Fiscal Year 2026 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery. On that date, foreign nationals who entered the lottery can visit the official Entrant Status Check website to learn whether they were selected to submit an application for permanent residence.
Lottery results
If you entered the FY 2026 lottery, the only reliable way to learn whether you have been selected is to visit the official website and enter the confirmation number of your entry, along with your last name, date of birth and a randomly generated authentication code. The State Department does not send direct notifications to lottery winners, so beware of emails, letters, or other communications that claim you have won the lottery; they are likely to be fraudulent.
If your lottery entry was selected, the Entrant Status Check website will provide information on how to proceed with an application for permanent residence. Individuals selected in the lottery are eligible to submit an application for adjustment of status or an immigrant visa application during FY 2026, which begins on October 1, 2025 and ends on September 30, 2026. If your entry was not chosen, the status check website will state that fact.
For FY 2026, the State Department will make up to 55,000 immigrant visas available through the DV lottery. Foreign nationals submitted their lottery entries online during a designated time period. The filing period for the FY 2026 lottery ran from October 2, 2024 to November 7, 2024.
Guarding against DV lottery fraud
DV lottery scams are a common form of immigration fraud. Unscrupulous individuals set up deceptive web pages that pose as official government sites or purport to be authorized by the State Department to accept or administer lottery entries, sometimes for a very high fee. They also try to entice foreign nationals to provide personal information and money with promises of winning lottery entries.
Take precautions to avoid becoming a victim of lottery fraud. Though you may seek legal counsel or other assistance in preparing a lottery application, be wary of commercial enterprises that claim you have won the lottery, purport to register applicants outside the official registration period, or claim to be authorized by the government. No fees or personal information should be sent to a questionable individual or entity. Detailed information on DV lottery fraud is available from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the State Department.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.
