DV Lottery 2026 Registration Guide to Avoid Disqualification

In this post, the 2026 DV Lottery Registration Guide to Avoid Disqualification is provided. The application process for the American Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is online and very simple. However, applicants need to be very careful when filling out the form to avoid being disqualified from the draw or at the time of the interview if they won the lottery.

Applicants should make sure they submit only one entry as allowed by the law during each registration period. Multiple entries are not permitted. Candidates with multiple entries will simply be disqualified. If you’re married, each of you can submit one application by adding the spouse as a derivative.

To apply for the DV Lottery 2026 program, you need to submit the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form or DS-5501. The application form is available online through the Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) website during the specified registration period. There is no cost to register for the DV lottery program. Please register as soon as possible.

The system usually bugs in the last week of application due to the huge number of applicants in the last few days. You may not be able to submit your application. The entry submission period for DV-2026 is from 12:00 PM EDT (GMT-4) on October 2, 2024 to 12:00 PM EST (GMT-5) on November 5, 2024.

To start, please click on the apply button below and you will be redirected to a page that is similar to the one shown in the picture below. The “begin” entry button will appear once the application period starts. Please pay attention to the given instructions to avoid making a mistake that will cost you your immigration project to the United States of America.

Please click on the Begin Entry button to start. A page similar to the one shown below will open. Type the characters as they appear in the picture on the page (characters will be different from the one shown in the picture below) and click on the submit button.

You will then have access to the registration form which the top part is shown in the picture below.

I – DV Lottery 2026 Registration – Personal Information

Please fill out the form. The information you enter must be accurate and correct or you may be disqualified later. You will have approximately 30 min to fill out the form. After 30 min the system will reset the form and you will have to start filling it out from the beginning. So, prepare all the required information and photos before you start the application process.

1. Name

Candidates should input their last/family name, first name, middle name exactly as it appears on their passport in the corresponding field. If you only have one name, it must be entered in the last/family name field. If you have No First Name or No Middle Name, you must check the corresponding option (see the red arrows in the above image), otherwise the form will not move forward as a field will be left empty.

2. Gender

Applicants at this stage must select their gender (Male or Female). Just click on the circles beside male or female to select your gender.

3. Birth Date

You must enter your Birth date. Please input the day, month, and year in their corresponding fields on the form.

4. City Where You Were Born

Please enter the name of the city where you were born. Do not enter District/County/Province/State. If you don’t know the city where you were born, please check the “Birth City Unknown” below the Birth City field.

5. Country Where You Were Born

Please enter the name of the country of birth. Do remember to use the current name of the country you were born in.

II – DV Lottery Registration – Country of Eligibility and Passport Information

6. Country of Eligibility for the DV Program

Your country of eligibility (chargeability) is normally your country of birth. Your country of eligibility is NOT related to where you live nor the citizenship you hold. Please answer the question Are you claiming eligibility based on the country where you were born? By selecting Yes or NO. If your answer is no (meaning your country of birth is ineligible for the Diversity Visa 2026), you have to choose another country from which you’re claiming eligibility.

If your birth country is not eligible, you may choose your country of eligibility as the country of birth of your spouse, or the country of birth of either of your parents if you were born in a country in which neither parent was born, and in which your parents were not resident at the time of your birth. Selecting an incorrect country of eligibility or chargeability will disqualify you. Please click on the American Diversity Immigrant Visa Program for more details on eligible countries.

III – DV Lottery Registration – Photograph Requirements

7. Entrant Photograph

The digital photo you want to upload may be of one of the following nature

A) A digital photo you took in the last 6 months which must be:

• In JPEG (.jpg) file format
• Equal to or less than 240 KB (kilobytes) in file size
• In a square aspect ratio (height must equal width)
• 600×600 pixels in dimension.

B) A scan of an existing photo. In addition to the digital image requirements, your scanned photo must be:

• 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm)
• Scanned at a resolution of 300 pixels per inch (12 pixels per millimeter)

Furthermore, the image to upload must meet the following requirements:

1. In color ;
2. In focus ;
3. Sized such that the head is between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (22 mm and 35 mm) or 50 percent and 69 percent of the image’s total height, from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. View the Photo Composition Template for more size requirement details;
4. Taken within the last six months to reflect your current appearance ;
5. Taken in front of a plain white or off-white background ;
6. Taken in full-face view directly facing the camera ;
7. With a neutral facial expression and both eyes open ;
8. Taken in clothing that you normally wear on a daily basis;
9. Uniforms should not be worn in your photo, except religious clothing that is worn daily;
10. Do not wear a hat or head covering that obscures the hair or hairline unless worn daily for a religious purpose. Your full face must be visible, and the head covering must not cast any shadows on your face;
11. Headphones, wireless hands-free devices, or similar items are not acceptable in your photo;
12. Do not wear eyeglasses ;
13. If you normally wear a hearing device or similar articles, they may be worn in your photo.

Please click here to see examples of incorrect and acceptable photos. You can use this tool provided by the US Department of State to prepare your photos.

Please click on the ‘Choose Photo‘ button to select your prepared image for the application. If your photo does not comply with all specifications, you will be disqualified from the draw.

IV – DV Lottery 2026 Registration – Contact Information

8. Mailing Address

Please enter your mailing address information. You may leave blank places where it’s written “Optional“.

9. Country Where You Live Today

Please select the country Where You Live Today.

10. Phone Number

Please enter your phone number. Remember, this is an optional field. This means you’re not required to fill it in and it can be left blank.

11. E-mail Address

Please enter your E-mail Address and Confirm it. If selected, you will receive follow-up email communications through this email address. Therefore, make sure to provide a valid email address to which you will still have access during the entire processing time of your case.

V – DV Lottery Registration – Level of Education and Family Situation

12. What is the highest level of education you have achieved, as of today?

Please select the highest level of education you have achieved, as of today. You must have a minimum of a high school diploma reflecting the completion of a full course of study (vocation schools or equivalency degrees are not acceptable) or be a skilled worker in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to qualify (visit onetonline.org to see if your occupation qualifies) for a Diversity Visa.

13. What is your current marital status?

Please select your marital status. If you’re married at the time of application, you must select married. Married means legally married with official documents to prove it. If you’re married and apply as single, you will be disqualified at the time of the interview. However, if you’re married traditionally and there is no official document to prove your status, you should apply as single.

You must list your spouse even if you are currently separated from him/her unless you are legally separated. Legal separation is an arrangement when a couple remains married but lives apart, following a court order. If you and your spouse are legally separated, your spouse will not be able to immigrate with you through the Diversity Visa program. If your spouse is a U.S. citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident, do not list him/her in your entry since he/she won’t be needing a Diversity Visa.

14. Number of Children

Please enter the number of children you have. Children include all biological and legally adopted children and stepchildren who are unmarried and under the age of 21 on the date you submit your entry. You must include all eligible children, even if they do not live with you or if they do not intend to apply for a Diversity Visa as your derivative. Failure to list all eligible children is grounds for disqualification. If your child is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident, do not list him/her in your entry.

Please click on the “Continue” button to move to the next page. If you’re married or have a child, please check the DV Lottery Registration – Derivatives section.

VI – DV Lottery 2026 Registration – Information Verification and Submission

You will have access to a page where you need to verify that all your entered information is correct. At the bottom of the verification page, you will have the following options as shown in the image below.

1. Cancel Entry: After filling out the form, if for any reason you no longer wish to complete the application process, please click on cancel entry;
2. Go Back to Part 1 : After verification, if there is a mistake on the principal applicant form, please click on the “Go Back to Part 1” to access the form, correct the mistake and click continue at the bottom of that page to move forward;
3. Go Back to Part 2 (only for an applicant with a derivative): After verification, if there is a mistake on the derivatives application form, please click on the “Go Back to Part 2” to access the form, correct the mistake and click continue at the bottom of that page to move forward;
4. Submit: After verification, if all entered information is correct, click on the “Continue” button to access the submission confirmation page.

You will then have access to the submission confirmation page. The page is similar to the one shown in the image below. You must save the submission confirmation page in order to be able to check your status in May 2025. You must save the page either electronically (recommended) or print it on paper. By experience, greatyop advises you to save the submission page in PDF and send it by email to a trustful friend, or family member or just save it as a draft in your email. This will save you from a lot of trouble later when you need to check your status.

To check your status in May, you may click on the DV Entrant Status Check article which provides a step-by-step guide to check your status. You may also click on the official page button below to access a page similar to the one shown in the image below. Please click on the Check Status button and fill in your information to see whether you’re selected or not. The DV lottery 2026 results will be available for all countries from May 3, 2025.

VII – DV Lottery Registration – Derivatives

If you’re married or have a child, you have to fill in the same information and add a photograph for your spouse, children and click on the Continue button. The form for derivative will appear once you finished section V (DV Lottery Registration – Level of Education and Family Situation) and clicked on the “Continue” button at the bottom of the page. The page will look similar to the one below.

The following is the information you need to fill in for each derivative (spouse and each child):

1. Name: last/family name, first name, middle name ;
2. Birth Date: please input the day, month, and year in their corresponding fields;
3. Gender: select the gender ;
4. City where the derivative is born ;
5. Country where the derivative is born ;
6. Derivative photograph.

once you finish filling in that information, you click next to access the verification section (DV Lottery Registration – Information Verification and Submission).

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3. Government Scholarships for International Students.

VIII – DV Lottery Registration – Important Notice

Below is some useful information that those who would like to apply for the DV lottery 2026 should pay attention to.

How can I increase my chances of winning the DV lottery in 2026?

Married applicants can increase their chances by submitting two different applications with each of the married couple being a principal applicant and the other one a derivative.

If your children are eligible to apply, do submit an application for them. If they win and immigrate to the USA, you can later get your green card through them.

Single applicants can’t do anything to increase their chances since the selection is done randomly by a computer program. However, they should make sure to not make a mistake that may disqualify them from the draw or prevent them from getting their visa if they won.

DV lottery 2026 registration date

The DV lottery 2026 application dates: Entries to the 2026 DV-Lottery Program must be submitted between noon EDT, Wednesday, October 2, 2024, and noon EDT on Tuesday, November 5. Submissions are only done electronically on the State Department website. Please click on the apply button below to access the online application form for the DV lottery.

Is my country eligible for the 2026 DV lottery?

Please click on the American Diversity Immigrant Visa Program for more details on eligible countries. Please note that your country of eligibility is NOT related to where you live nor the citizenship you hold. It is the country where you were born. For example, for the 2026 DV program, Brazil is not eligible. It doesn’t mean all Brazilians cannot apply for the DV program this year. Brazilians who were born in a foreign country that is eligible can still apply for the 2026 Diversity Visa program.

If your birth country is not eligible, you may choose your country of eligibility as the country of birth of your spouse, or the country of birth of either of your parents if you were born in a country in which neither parent was born, and in which your parents were not resident at the time of your birth.

Is there an age requirement to apply for the E-DV Program?

There is no age limit to apply. Anyone who meets the high school education or work experience requirement, and was born in a country that is eligible, can apply for the DV lottery 2026.

What occupations qualify for the DV program?

The O*Net Online database is used to determine the qualifying work experience. To qualify for a DV on the basis of your work experience, you must have, within the past five years, two years of experience in an occupation classified in a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) range of 7.0 or higher. Please click here to access the O*Net OnLine website and follow the steps below to determine if your occupation qualifies:

1. Under “Find Occupations,” select “Job Family” from the pull-down menu;
2. Browse by “Job Family,” make your selection, and click “GO”;
3. Click on the link for your specific occupation; and
4. Select the tab “Job Zone” to find the designated Job Zone number and Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) rating range.

For example, the SVP Range for Carpenters is (4.0 to 6.0). This means Carpenters are not eligible to apply for the DV program.

Other Points About the DV lottery 2026 registration

• Each person is allowed to submit only one application. Duplicate applications will disqualify you from the draw.
• Your photo must have been taken within the last 6 months and aligned with size, background, and other DV photo requirements, otherwise, you will be disqualified.
• If possible, apply yourself to avoid any errors. If someone applied for you, make sure to have a copy of the confirmation page, otherwise, you might be scammed later if you win.
• Please use your own email while applying. If you don’t have an email account, you can easily get one for free.

Please note that the deadline to register for the 2026 American Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is November 5, 2024 12:00PM EST (GMT -5). To be the first to see latest opportunities, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.