When Does the DV Lottery 2027 Open?

Facts checked on October 28, 2026. This is a developing story. The editorial policy explains how this site labels official records.

DV lottery 2027 registration is not open. You cannot submit an entry today. The amended injunction in Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Rubio requires the State Department to announce the registration period by midnight EST on October 29, 2026, and to open a 30-day period by midnight EST on November 1, 2026. CourtListener’s Ninth Circuit docket, displayed as last updated at 7:01 a.m. on October 28, 2026, does not list a stay.

The case history and H.R. 10896 are in DV-2027 reopened by court order.

What must be announced by October 29?

On October 21, 2026, Judge Jinsook Ohta signed an amended injunction in Southern District of California No. 3:26-cv-04738. It supersedes the October 14 orders. Deadlines below are midnight EST, the abbreviation the order uses. Processing runs until the fiscal year 2027 allocation is exhausted or September 30, 2027, whichever comes first. The announcement must appear on the visas-news page and through customary channels, including the Federal Register. Entries must meet 8 U.S.C. §§ 1153 and 1154(a)(1)(I) and 22 C.F.R. § 42.33.

Deadline	What the amended order requires
October 28, 2026	This check. Not a court deadline.
October 29, 2026, midnight EST	Announce dates, the entry website, and the requirements.
October 30, 2026	Last day to ask for more time to notify selectees.
November 1, 2026, midnight EST	Open a 30-day registration period.
December 3, 2026, midnight EST	Notify selectees, unless that date is extended.
September 30, 2027	Stop processing, or earlier if the allocation runs out.

These are court dates, not a statement that the form is open. The registration status page was last updated October 23 and still calls the dates reported. The order itself is a public PDF, linked below.

Has the Ninth Circuit paused the order?

No stay order is on the docket that was checked.

In No. 26-6943, the government moved for a stay on October 23. The court set a response for 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on October 26. Red Eagle Law’s response was entered at 4:38 p.m.

The newest items are October 27: a status report marked defective for the wrong filing type, and correspondence entered at 12:08 p.m. to correct it. The free docket has titles only, so the correspondence is not described here. CourtListener showed that docket last updated October 28, 2026, at 7:01 a.m. It does not label the clock’s time zone. A later filing is outside this check.

The district docket, last updated 7:02 a.m., has an October 27 minute order denying more time to answer as moot because the answer was filed October 23. It does not move the dates. On October 21 the district court denied a stay, writing that a stay “would effectively cancel the congressionally mandated 2027 Diversity Visa Program.” It also wrote that December 3 notification “does not itself result in the issuance of Diversity Visas,” and that recent years saw “approximately 100,000” people selected “for the opportunity to apply for a maximum of 55,000” visas. That is the court’s description, not a promise of a visa. Opening briefs are due November 17, 2026. A brief date is not a stay.

Has the State Department published the dates?

Not in the records checked on October 28.

Changes to the 2027 entry period, last updated November 5, 2025, still says the start date and the Entry Status Check date will be announced “as soon as practicable,” and that selected DV-2027 applicants have a visa period of October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027. A direct request to travel.state.gov returned HTTP 403, so this uses the publicly indexed text retrieved October 28, 2026. If a new notice is up and the index lags, read the visas-news URL in the order.

The Federal Register API returned zero documents matching “Diversity Visa” published on or after October 20, 2026. A public-inspection search for “diversity” the same day returned workforce-diversity personnel documents, not a visa notice.

What should you prepare if the window opens?

File only after the official notice names the site and the dates.

1. Use only that site. Past instructions used the DS-5501 at dvprogram.state.gov. The order requires the Department to name the website. Keep your own confirmation number. The November 5, 2025 notice says results will appear in Entry Status Check once the Department announces when. Do not hand that number to another site.

2. File one petition. The March 11, 2026 regulation voids every petition if more than one is submitted by or for the same person in a fiscal year. The Department wrote that more than 2.5 million duplicate entries were disqualified in the FY2025 program.

3. Passport, or an exemption file. From April 10, 2026, the entry needs the passport number, name, issuing authority, and expiration date, plus a JPEG of the biographic and signature page, not a PDF, and not over 5 megabytes. The Department described exemptions for a stateless person; a national of a Communist-controlled country who cannot get that passport; and an individual waiver approved by the Secretaries of Homeland Security and State, decided at the interview. The passport guide has the detail.

4. Expect a fee conflict. A rule effective September 16, 2025, charges $1 at registration on a U.S. government portal. It leaves the later visa application fee at $330, cut from $440 in 2012, and says the $1 fee did not immediately lower that $330. See the fee guide. DV-2026 instructions and the entry page still say registration has no cost. The $1 rule is the later text. Pay only on the official site.

5. Name the family members the rule lists. Include a spouse and children, including adopted children and stepchildren, whether or not they will immigrate, except a spouse or child who is already a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Photos are required for the entrant, the spouse, and each unmarried child under 21.

6. Do not leave the entry for the last days. DV-2026 instructions said the final week can slow the site and that late entries are refused. The passport rule’s estimate of about 10 million DV-2027 entrants is an estimate, not a count of entries received.

What photo file meets the written rules?

DV-2027 photo instructions are not published. Two official texts already differ on the head measurement.

The DV-2026 instructions and the photo page require a color, in-focus JPEG of exactly 600 by 600 pixels and 240 KB or smaller, taken within six months, on a plain white or off-white background, full face, both eyes open. Chin to crown must be 50 to 69 percent of the height (1 inch to 1 3/8 inches, or 22 mm to 35 mm). No eyeglasses or headphones. A daily religious head covering is allowed only with the full face visible and no shadow. A manipulated photo, a missed specification, the same photo as a prior entry, or a driver’s-license copy can make the entry ineligible. A baby’s photo may not include another person.

The rule effective April 10, 2026 requires a recent color JPEG, facing the camera, on a neutral light background, with no eyeglasses. It says the head must cover about 50 percent of the area, which is not the same measure as 50 to 69 percent of the height. A scan must start from a 2 by 2 inch (50 mm) print. Scanner resolution “will be further specified in the public notice.” The 600-pixel size and 240 KB cap are in the DV-2026 instructions, not in those regulatory sentences. Follow the DV-2027 notice if it chooses one.

See the size, file size, and examples pages. The tool on this site exports a 600 by 600 JPEG. dvlotteryphoto.com makes one such JPEG per order, background corrected and file size checked, made to those written requirements. That is not State Department approval, it does not submit an entry, and it is not the $1 fee.

What if the entry is selected?

Selection is permission to apply. A December 3 notice does not issue a visa. Processing runs until numbers run out or September 30, 2027. The November 5, 2025 notice gives selected DV-2027 applicants that same window, which has already begun.

The September 2026 Visa Bulletin says DV-2026 visas may not be issued after September 30, 2026, and that the DV-2026 limit was about 52,101. This article does not apply 52,101 to DV-2027. The statute the court cited provides up to 55,000 diversity visas. Unused numbers do not roll forward, and selection does not guarantee a visa.

Which messages should you ignore?

DV-2026 instructions warn that sites charge for forms the Department posts on travel.state.gov, and they point reports to econsumer.gov and the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. A site taking entries before dates are posted is not the government form. A payment does not guarantee selection. The registration charge in the current rule is the $1 fee, paid on the official site when it is open.

This is general information from public records.

Questions

Is DV lottery 2027 registration open?

No. On October 28, 2026 the November 5, 2025 State Department notice still had no DV-2027 dates, and the Federal Register had no Diversity Visa registration notice since October 20, 2026.

When must the dates be announced?

The amended injunction sets midnight EST on October 29, 2026 for a visas-news announcement of the dates, the entry website, and the requirements, including a Federal Register notice.

Has the Ninth Circuit stayed the order?

No stay order was on Ninth Circuit docket 26-6943 as CourtListener showed it at 7:01 a.m. on October 28, 2026. The newest items were an October 26 response and October 27 correspondence.

What DV photo should I prepare?

DV-2027 photo rules are unpublished. DV-2026 instructions say a 600 by 600 JPEG, 240 KB or smaller, taken within six months, head 50 to 69 percent of the height, no eyeglasses. An April 2026 rule says the head must cover about 50 percent of the area.

What does DV registration cost?

A rule effective September 16, 2025 sets a $1 registration fee. Older State Department pages still say registration is free. Pay only on the official entry site.

Where do I enter the DV lottery 2027?

Only on the website named in the State Department announcement. Past years used dvprogram.state.gov.

What this check could not confirm

The October 27 correspondence text is not on the free docket. CourtListener’s copy stops at its morning refresh on October 28, 2026. A direct request to travel.state.gov returned HTTP 403, so a newer notice than the indexed November 5, 2025 page could be missing here. DV-2027 pixel and head-size instructions are unpublished.

Sources

1. Amended injunction, Dkt. 31, October 21, 2026. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.casd.867598/gov.uscourts.casd.867598.31.0.pdf
2. Stay denial, Dkt. 32, October 21, 2026. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.casd.867598/gov.uscourts.casd.867598.32.0.pdf
3. District docket, last updated October 28, 2026, 7:02 a.m. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74670403/red-eagle-law-lc-v-rubio/
4. Ninth Circuit No. 26-6943, last updated October 28, 2026, 7:01 a.m. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74994271/red-eagle-law-lc-v-rubio/
5. State Department entry-period notice, November 5, 2025. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/changes-to-2027-dv-program-entry-period.html
6. Federal Register API, “Diversity Visa” since October 20, 2026, count zero. https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json?conditions%5Bterm%5D=%22Diversity%20Visa%22&conditions%5Bpublication_date%5D%5Bgte%5D=2026-10-20
7. Fee rule, effective September 16, 2025, document 2025-17851. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/09/16/2025-17851/schedule-of-fees-for-consular-services-department-of-state-and-overseas-embassies-and
8. Passport and photo rule, effective April 10, 2026, document 2026-04737. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/11/2026-04737/visas-enhancing-vetting-and-combatting-fraud-in-the-diversity-immigrant-visa-program
9. DV-2026 instructions. https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Diversity-Visa/DV-Instructions-Translations/DV-2026-Instructions-Translations/DV%202026%20Plain%20Language%20Instructions%20and%20FAQs.pdf
10. State Department photo page. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/photos.html
11. Visa Bulletin for September 2026. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2026/visa-bulletin-for-september-2026.html
12. Diversity Visa entry page. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/diversity-visa-program-entry.html

DV Lottery Guide is an independent, unofficial guide and is not affiliated with the U.S. government. A photo made to the written DV requirements is not approved by the State Department. Entering the lottery does not guarantee selection or a visa.