US Introduces US$1 Fee for Green Card Lottery Participation

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The US Department of State is introducing a new electronic fee of US$1 for participation in the annual Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery. This marks the first change in the cost of participation in the program’s history.

The new fee is intended to cover operational expenses related to maintaining and securing the electronic registration system, including updates, data storage, and the automated random selection of winners. Previously, these costs were covered by the US$330 visa application fee paid only by lottery winners.

Starting from 16 October 2025, applicants will be required to pay US$1 at the time of submitting their entry through the official government portal. Registration is available exclusively via the US Department of State’s website.

The Department of State warns that any notifications of selection by phone, mail, or email are fraudulent. The only official way to verify selection results is through the Entrant Status Check on the program’s website.

Each year, 55,000 visas are issued under the program, with applications far exceeding this number. For instance, more than 9.5 million people participated in DV-2023, of whom around 119,000 were notified of eligibility to submit a visa application.