How to Fill Out the Green Card Lottery Form (DV-2027, DV-2028): Field-by-Field Guide

Prepare everything in advance: the online form has a session time limit, and if you run out of time, you will have to enter everything again.

• A valid international passport and a scan of the page with your photo and signature.
• Photos of the principal applicant, the husband or wife, and each child: JPEG 600×600, up to 240 KB, taken within the last 6 months.
• Exact dates and places of birth for all family members.
• A mailing address and an email you will have access to for the whole next year.
• A way to pay the $1 fee.

You can check your photos in advance with our free tool.

Only at dvprogram.state.gov, the official U.S. State Department website with a .gov domain.

The form is called the E-DV Entry Form (DS-5501). Private websites, including ours, can help you prepare your information and photos, but the submission itself still happens on dvprogram.state.gov, and you must keep the confirmation number. Websites that say they are “already accepting entries” before the official dates are announced are scams.

No, since 04/10/2026 this is almost impossible: rule 91 FR 11891 requires the details of a valid, unexpired passport and a scan of the biographic data page.

• You enter the passport number, the issuing country, and the expiration date.
• Exceptions are very narrow: stateless persons, citizens of certain countries where getting a passport is impossible, and people with an individual waiver.

If your passport is expiring, renew it before you register. Keep a copy of the passport you used: at the interview, the consular officer may check whether it was valid on the registration date.

The government fee is $1 per entry, paid when you submit on dvprogram.state.gov (rule 90 FR 44524 of 09/16/2025).

The State Department charges no other registration fees. If someone asks for money “to take part in the government lottery” or “for a guaranteed win,” it is a scam. Paid services from companies, including Americanization (from $99), are help with filling out the form correctly and with photos, not a lottery ticket: no one can influence the outcome of the drawing.

Exactly as in your international passport, in Latin letters: last name (Last/Family name), first name (First name), patronymic (Middle name) – only if it appears in your passport.

• Most Ukrainian international passports do not include a patronymic, so in the Middle name field you check “No middle name.”
• Do not swap your first and last names, and do not use your own transliteration.
• If you have only one name, enter it in the last name field.

A mismatch with your passport is one of the most common causes of problems at the interview.

Enter your city of birth in Latin letters, as in your passport or using its current name. Enter your country of birth by the current name of the territory where you were born.

If you were born in the Ukrainian SSR before 1991, enter Ukraine, not USSR: the instructions directly require the name of the country used today. The same applies to cities that have been renamed: it is better to use the current name. If you do not know the exact place, enter it as shown on your birth certificate, not “unknown.”

This is the country you are entering the lottery from. It usually matches your country of birth, not your citizenship or where you live.

• Born in Ukraine and living in Poland or the U.S. – enter Ukraine.
• If your country of birth is not eligible, you can sometimes claim your husband’s or wife’s country of birth (then both of you must be on the entry and enter the U.S. together) or, in some cases, your parents’ country of birth.

Choosing the wrong country is grounds for disqualification, so in unusual cases it is better to get advice before submitting.

Enter your real current address where you can receive mail, and the country where you live now.

• If you are in the U.S. on U4U parole or TPS, enter your U.S. address and United States as your country of residence.
• Fill in the “In Care Of” field only if your mail comes in another person’s name.
• A phone number is optional, but it is better to include one.

Your status in the U.S. does not affect the registration itself. Difficulties may come up after winning, so it is worth talking to an attorney in advance about how to get a green card from inside the U.S.

Your own personal email that you will have access to for the whole next year, while selection and visa issuance continue.

The State Department never sends “You won” emails: you can only check the result yourself in Entrant Status Check. But if you are selected, later emails about the interview come to this exact address. Do not use the email of an agent or an acquaintance that you do not control, and do not create a “one-time” address.

Choose the highest level you have already completed and can prove with a document. The options are: Primary school only, Some high school no diploma, High school diploma, Vocational school, Some university courses, University degree, Some graduate-level courses, Master's degree, Some doctoral-level courses, Doctorate.

• Complete general secondary education (11 grades with a certificate) usually corresponds to High school diploma.
• A college or technical school after 9th grade is often Vocational school, but it all depends on your documents.
• To be eligible, the principal applicant needs a high school education or 2 years of work experience in an occupation that requires 2 years of training.

If you overstate your education level, the consular officer will find out at the interview from your original documents.

Enter your legal marital status as of the day you submit.

• Legally married, even if you live apart or plan to divorce – Married, and you must list your wife or husband, with a photo.
• Legally separated – only if there is a court decision on legal separation.
• Common-law relationship (not registered) – Unmarried, each person submits their own entry.
• If your husband or wife is already a U.S. citizen or has a green card, you choose a separate option and do not enter their details.

An unlisted or made-up husband or wife is grounds to disqualify the whole family.

All living unmarried children under 21 on the day you submit, even if they live separately or do not plan to go.

• Biological children, adopted children, and stepchildren (even if your marriage to their parent has ended).
• For each child – name, date and place of birth, and a separate photo meeting the same requirements, even for a baby.
• Married children and those who are already 21 are not listed: they submit their own entries.
• Children who are already U.S. citizens or have a green card do not have to be listed.

A missing child is the most common reason winners are refused.

Enter the number, the issuing country, and the expiration date exactly as in your passport, and upload a scan or a clear photo of the page with your biographic data and signature.

• The passport must be valid on the registration date.
• The scan must have no glare, cut-off edges, or blur, so every character is readable.
• The name on the form and in the passport must match letter for letter.

This is a new requirement for 2026 (91 FR 11891), so check the final file format in the DV-2027 instructions as soon as they are published.

Immediately save the confirmation page with your unique confirmation number: take a screenshot and print it or save it as a PDF.

Only with this number, your last name, and your year of birth can you check your result in Entrant Status Check. If an agent is helping you, you must keep the number yourself: the State Department directly warns about schemes where an agent takes the number and then demands money. If you lose the number, the status check page lets you recover it using your entry details and email.

Only yourself at dvprogram.state.gov in the Entrant Status Check section. The State Department does not send emails, calls, or text messages about winning.

For DV-2027, according to attorneys, the court schedule requires winners to be notified by 12/03/2026. The State Department has not announced the official date yet, so check it in the DV-2027 instructions. More about the dates on the page DV-2027 and DV-2028: when registration opens.

You cannot correct a submitted form. You also cannot submit a second entry for the same person: two entries for the same person disqualify both.

Under the rules of past years, if you notice a mistake before clicking the submit button, you can fix it right there. If the form froze and you did not get a confirmation number, the entry was most likely not counted, and you may submit, but first carefully check your email and Entrant Status Check. If you are not sure, do not submit a second time at random – get advice first.

Yes, and it is a legal way to double your chances: if you are legally married, each of you submits your own entry as the principal applicant and must list the other.

If either of you wins, you go together with your children under 21. Both entries must have the same family details and the same children. Americanization offers plans that double the chances for married couples on the Green Card lottery page.