The United States has implemented a registration fee of $1 (Sh129) for applicants of the Green Card lottery. The US Federal Register stated that the $1 fee corresponds to the operational expenses associated with administering the annual DV lottery.
The annual review and update of systems for collecting lottery form submissions, data storage, automated random selection of lottery winners, and related security assessments are included.
The application fee for the Diversity Visa will remain inclusive of all costs related to the administration of the Diversity Visa programme.
The Federal Register indicated that the Department will assess the DV fee during its upcoming model update and modify the DV application fee as necessary at that time.
The statement indicated that this action will more equitably distribute the responsibility of lottery registration among individuals seeking access to the DV application process.
This approach replaces the model of charging only a small percentage of successful registrants for the costs related to administering the lottery programme for all registrants.
To implement this modification to the DV program, the Department revised its regulations to indicate that an electronic registration fee will be collected during the registration process.
The Department amended its regulations to implement a change to the DV programme, specifying that an electronic registration fee will be collected during the registration process.
The Federal Register indicates that the rule modifies Item 33 of the Schedule of Fees by introducing a $1 (Sh129) fee for DV lottery registration, in addition to the $330 (Sh42,570) Diversity Visa Application fee.
The expenses associated with managing the Diversity Visa lottery have traditionally been incorporated into the Diversity Visa Application fee as mandated by legislation.
The new policy is implemented shortly before the registration period for the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery, commencing in early October.
Participants are required to submit a payment of $1 upon entering electronically on the official U.S. government website.
Payment is required to be processed via an authorised U.S. government portal during the registration period. The DV application fee of $330 for selected applicants remains unchanged.
The registration fees are non-refundable, irrespective of lottery outcomes or the applicants’ decision to proceed with a visa application. Fees are non-transferable between lottery years.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Program) allocates up to 50,000 immigrant visas each year through a random selection process for individuals from countries with low immigration rates to the United States.
The Diversity Visa (DV) Program is overseen by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). The majority of lottery winners live outside the United States and enter the country via consular clearance and the issuance of an immigrant visa.
The adjustment of status process for diversity visa winners must be finalised by September 30 of the relevant fiscal year.
Visas are not transferable to the subsequent fiscal year.
No Free Green Card Lottery, applicants to pay $1
