Permanent Resident CardThe United States has introduced a $1 (Sh129) registration fee for those applying for the Green Card lottery.
In a statement, the US Federal Register said the $1 fee reflects the operational costs of running the annual DV lottery.
These include the annual review and update of the systems required to collect the lottery form submissions, data storage, automated randomised selection of lottery winners and associated security reviews.
The Diversity Visa application fee will continue to cover all other costs associated with administering the Diversity Visa program.
The Federal Register said the Department will review the DV fee in its next model update and adjust the DV application fee if and as needed at that time.
It also stated that move will more fairly place the burden of the lottery registration on individuals seeking the benefit of gaining access to the DV application process.
This is instead of charging only the small percentage of successful registrants for the costs associated with administering the lottery program for all registrants.
To effect this change to the DV program, the Department also amended its regulations to note that an electronic registration fee will be collected at the time of registration.
According to the Federal Register, the rule makes a change to Item 33 of the Schedule of Fees by adding a $1 (Sh129) fee to register for the DV lottery in addition to the $330 (Sh42, 570) Diversity Visa Application fee.
The cost of managing the DV lottery historically has been included in the Diversity Visa Application fee as authorized by law.
The new policy comes weeks before the registration period for the 2027 DV lottery, which opens in early October.
All participants must pay $1 when submitting their electronic entry on the official U.S. government website.
The payment must be made through an authorized U.S. government portal at the time of registration.
The $330 DV application fee for selected applicants remains the same.
The registration fees will not be refunded, regardless of lottery results or whether applicants move forward with a visa application.
The fees cannot be transferred between lottery years.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Program) makes up to 50,000 immigrant visas available annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to individuals who are from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
The DV Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State (DOS).
Most lottery winners reside outside the United States and immigrate through consular processing and issuance of an immigrant visa.
The adjustment of status process for diversity visa winners must be completed by September 30 of the fiscal year the lottery pertains to.
Visas cannot be carried over to the next fiscal year.
