DV Lottery 2028: Registration Dates, Official Site & New Rules

DV Lottery 2028 has not opened yet. As of September 3, 2026, the U.S. Department of State has not published official DV-2028 registration dates, a DV-2028 country-eligibility list, or the date when DV-2028 selection results will become available. Any website claiming that the DV-2028 opening and closing dates are already official is getting ahead of the State Department.

The official Diversity Visa entry website is dvprogram.state.gov. The State Department says entries are accepted only during the registration period announced for that program year, and no late or paper entries are accepted.

When Will DV Lottery 2028 Registration Open?

There is no official DV-2028 opening date yet. The Department of State publishes detailed instructions for each Diversity Visa cycle, and those annual instructions include the registration dates. Until the DV-2028 instructions are published, there is no authoritative opening or closing date to quote.

It is especially important not to assume that DV-2028 will automatically follow the older October-to-November pattern. In November 2025, the State Department announced that it was changing the DV entry process and delayed the start-date announcement for DV-2027. That official delay is a reminder that past schedules are not a guarantee for a future cycle.

For DV-2028, the correct answer right now is simple: wait for the State Department to publish the dates.

What Is the Official DV Lottery 2028 Website?

The official electronic entry system is dvprogram.state.gov. The State Department’s Diversity Visa information and annual instructions are published on Travel.State.Gov.

A legitimate DV registration does not require you to send personal documents to a social-media account, WhatsApp number, private email address, cryptocurrency wallet, or unofficial “lottery agent.” When the registration period opens, use the government entry system directly.

The State Department also warns that selection is checked through Entrant Status Check. It does not mail a winner letter or send an email that itself grants a Diversity Visa.

Is There a Fee to Enter DV-2028?

Yes. The current Department of State visa-services fee schedule lists a $1 Diversity Visa Registration Fee, paid at the time of registration by the principal entrant.

This is a major change from older DV instructions that said there was no registration fee. Applicants should therefore avoid relying on screenshots or old guides from earlier program years.

The $1 registration fee is different from the $330 Diversity Visa application fee that applies later to a person applying as a DV selectee for a Diversity Visa immigrant visa. Selection, registration and the immigrant-visa application are separate stages.

Do You Need a Passport for DV-2028?

Under the State Department’s 2026 final rule for the Diversity Visa entry process, a DV entrant must provide information from a valid, unexpired passport and upload a scan of the passport’s biographic and signature page, unless the entrant qualifies for an authorized passport exemption.

That means anyone planning to enter a future DV cycle should not wait until the final day of registration to discover that the passport is expired, missing, damaged or unavailable.

The annual DV-2028 instructions will still control the exact entry requirements when they are released. Applicants should read those instructions before submitting anything, even if they have entered the lottery in a previous year.

What Can You Prepare Before DV-2028 Opens?

You cannot submit an official DV-2028 entry before the government opens the registration period, but you can prepare the information and documents that are likely to take time to organize.

• Check that your passport is valid and unexpired.
• Keep a readable digital copy of the passport biographic/signature page available.
• Verify your exact legal name, date of birth and place of birth.
• Confirm your current marital status.
• Identify every spouse and child who may need to be listed under the annual instructions.
• Plan to obtain a new compliant photograph rather than reusing an old DV photo.
• Prepare a payment method for the official $1 registration fee.
• Do not submit through an unofficial site before the State Department opens registration.

Do not assume that the DV-2026 country list, photo instructions or other cycle-specific details will automatically be identical for DV-2028. Those items must be checked against the new annual instructions once published.

Which Countries Are Eligible for DV-2028?

The State Department has not published the DV-2028 eligible- and ineligible-country list yet.

Diversity Visa eligibility is normally based on country of chargeability, usually the country where the principal entrant was born, not simply citizenship, passport nationality or current residence. The annual instructions identify which countries are excluded for that specific DV year.

Because eligibility can change from one program year to another, a country’s status in DV-2026 or an older lottery should not be presented as the DV-2028 answer.

Does the Current Diversity Visa Issuance Pause Cancel DV-2028?

No official Department of State notice currently says that DV-2028 registration has been canceled.

There is, however, a separate and fast-changing issue involving Diversity Visa issuance.

On August 31, 2026, the Department of State updated its Diversity Visa guidance. It said that, as of August 28, 2026, the December 2025 pause on Diversity Visa issuance was no longer in effect following the court’s order in Medani et al. v. Trump et al.

The Department then announced a new pause on all Diversity Visa issuances, effective immediately.

Under the current guidance:

• DV applicants may still submit visa applications;
• DV applicants may still attend scheduled interviews;
• the Department will continue scheduling appointments;
• existing appointments generally will not be canceled or rescheduled;
• no Diversity Visas are currently being issued; and
• the Department says there are no exceptions to the current issuance pause.

This issuance pause and DV-2028 registration are separate issues.

The current pause should therefore not be interpreted as an official announcement that DV-2028 registration has been canceled, opened, delayed to a specific date, or guaranteed to follow the traditional October-to-November registration calendar.

Applicants should monitor the current Department of State Diversity Visa guidance and the annual DV-2028 instructions when they are published.

Why DV-2027 Matters for DV-2028 Timing

DV-2027 provides an important caution against publishing fake dates. On November 5, 2025, the State Department said it was implementing changes to the DV entry process and would announce the DV-2027 registration start date “as soon as practicable.” It also said it would later announce when DV-2027 selection results could become available through Entrant Status Check.

The Department preserved the DV-2027 visa-application period from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, but it did not preserve the traditional registration calendar.

For that reason, articles claiming that DV-2028 “will definitely open in early October 2026” should be treated as forecasts, not official information.

How Many Entries Can One Person Submit?

The State Department’s entry guidance allows only one entry by or for each person during each registration period. Multiple entries for the same person can disqualify all of that person’s entries for the program year.

A married couple can still have two legitimate chances when each spouse independently qualifies and each submits one separate entry that correctly lists the other spouse and required children.

What Happens After DV-2028 Registration?

The exact DV-2028 results date has not been announced. When the State Department publishes the annual instructions, entrants should save the confirmation number generated after successful submission because it is required for Entrant Status Check.

Selection does not mean a Green Card has been approved. A selected entrant must still establish eligibility, complete the required immigrant process and become eligible for a visa number under the applicable DV rank-number system. Diversity Visas also must be issued, or eligible adjustment cases approved, before the end of the fiscal year for which the person was selected.

How to Avoid DV-2028 Scams

Interest in the lottery increases before the registration period opens, which also creates an opportunity for fake registration sites and false “early access” offers.

• Do not pay a private person to “reserve” a DV-2028 entry before registration opens.
• Do not trust a site that claims government dates have been announced when Travel.State.Gov has not published them.
• Use dvprogram.state.gov for the official electronic entry.
• Keep control of your own confirmation number.
• Do not submit more than one entry for the same person.
• Do not rely on a previous year’s eligible-country list.
• Do not send the $1 government registration fee to an unofficial payment account.

DV Lottery 2028: What Is Confirmed and What Is Not

Question	Status as of September 3, 2026
Is DV-2028 open?	No.
Official registration dates?	Not announced.
Official results date?	Not announced.
Official country list?	Not published.
Official entry website?	dvprogram.state.gov.
Current registration fee?	$1 for the principal entrant.
Passport rule?	Current 2026 rule requires passport information and a passport-page scan unless an authorized exemption applies.
Current DV issuance pause?	Yes. The August 31, 2026 State Department guidance imposed a new pause on all DV issuances, with no exceptions.

Official Sources for DV-2028 Updates

• Department of State — Submit a Diversity Visa Entry
• Department of State — Diversity Visa Instructions
• Department of State — Changes to the DV-2027 Entry Period
• Department of State — Diversity Visa Issuance Updated Guidance
• Department of State — Visa Services Fee Schedule
• Federal Register — 2026 DV Passport and Entry-System Final Rule
• Official Electronic Diversity Visa Entry System

Bottom line: DV Lottery 2028 is not open yet, and there are no official DV-2028 registration dates to publish today. Use the State Department and dvprogram.state.gov as the authority, prepare your passport and family information, and wait for the annual DV-2028 instructions before submitting an entry.