According to the Department of State, the Diversity Visa program has historically received millions of fraudulent entries, including entries submitted by third parties on behalf of people who did not know about them. In DV-2025 the Department discovered 2.5 million fraudulent entries. The 2026 passport rule was written to address this.
Quick answer
- Fraud pattern: a third party enters a person in the lottery, then contacts the person and withholds the entry information unless a large fee is paid.
- Scale: 2.5 million fraudulent entries discovered in DV-2025, per the Department.
- Response: from DV-2027, each entry must include valid passport information and a passport scan, with limited exemptions, plus a $1 fee.
- Checking: the only way to see whether an entry exists and was selected is Entrant Status Check with the entrant’s own confirmation number.
How the scheme works
The final rule published March 11, 2026 describes it in one passage. Unauthorized third parties, some of them criminal enterprises, submit entries for people without their knowledge or consent. They then contact those people, inform them of the opportunity to apply for a diversity immigrant visa, and keep the entry information unless the person pays a large fee or agrees to take part in fraudulent activities. The unique confirmation number from the entry is the only way to check whether the entrant was selected, so withholding it gives the third party control.
Read step by step, the pattern has four parts. First, someone files an entry using a person’s details. Second, the person is contacted with news that an entry exists. Third, the entry information is held back. Fourth, a payment or an illegal favor is demanded in exchange for it. The rule states the first three parts and the demand directly, and it records that many commenters said they had experienced or witnessed visa fraud.
Why the person may not know
An entry needs a name, date and place of birth, family details, a photograph, and an email address. The DV-2026 instructions ask for the name as it appears on the passport only if the entrant has one, and they do not ask for a passport scan. Nothing in that process tied an entry to a real, valid passport, so a fabricated entry could look complete.
The instructions also say the email address on an entry should be one the entrant can reach directly. The instructions also tell entrants to keep access to that email account, because the Department’s later messages about a visa appointment go there. This is why a person should never let a helper register the entry under the helper’s own email address.
What the passport rule changes
The rule requires entrants to provide information from a valid, unexpired passport and to upload a scan of its biographic and signature page, unless an exemption applies. The Department says this lets it detect and disqualify duplicate entries more effectively. It reports that over 2.5 million duplicate entries were disqualified in the FY25 program, compared with 760,079 in the FY22 program, when an earlier passport requirement was in effect. See what changes for DV-2027 entrants.
The rule applies from the DV-2027 program. Nothing in it changes DV-2026, whose instructions are the ones quoted for the entry process above. The Department also states in the rule that a passport requirement is a critical step against the most common weak points but cannot remove every instance of fraud. It acknowledges that someone with bad intent could obtain a person’s passport and file a fake entry, which is why a person should keep control of passport copies.
The rule adds a $1 fee for every entry, with no waivers. The Department says the fee is collected through Pay.gov, which accepts credit and debit cards, PayPal, Venmo, and U.S. bank accounts.
What this means for an entrant
- A message that says “you were entered in the lottery” is not proof of anything. The only way to check an entry is Entrant Status Check with the entrant’s own confirmation number.
- An entrant who did not submit an entry has no confirmation number from the official site to give or to buy.
- A person who did enter should be wary of anyone who offers to “recover” an entry or a number for a fee.
- The FTC states that some scammers tell people they won a lottery they never entered and then ask for payment to “process” an application.
The one-entry rule and unknown entries
The instructions say the law allows only one entry per person in each entry period and that duplicates disqualify all entries of that person. The Department’s answer is the passport link, which makes each entry traceable to one passport.
The same instructions say that if a helper such as an attorney, friend, or relative submits an entry, only one entry may exist in the entrant’s name, and the entrant is responsible for the information being correct and complete. For that reason a person should know exactly who filed any entry and keep the confirmation number personally.
What to do if contacted
- Do not pay and do not send documents.
- Do not click links in the message.
- If an entry was made by a helper, ask for the confirmation page and the number in person. Do not pay for them.
- Report the contact. See where to report Diversity Visa fraud.
The DV-2026 instructions add that official messages never announce selection. The Department sends no selection letters and no selection emails, and any email that may arrive from the Department only tells the entrant to look at Entrant Status Check. The Department will never ask for money by mail or through a service such as Western Union.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone be entered without consent?
The Department states that third parties have done so, and the 2026 rule responds to it.
Does a fraudulent entry count as the person’s entry?
The Department disqualifies duplicate and fraudulent entries. How a specific case is judged depends on the entry’s information, so only the Department can say.
Will the passport scan stop all fraud?
The Department calls it a critical step but not a complete solution. Other safeguards remain necessary.
Is a passport required for every entrant?
With limited exceptions listed in the rule, such as stateless people.
Can a helper ask for a fee to hand over an entry?
The instructions describe facilitators who keep the confirmation page and demand more money or illegal activities for the number. A person who is told this should not pay and should report it.
Related reading
- DV lottery scams: common types and warning signs
- Protecting the DV confirmation number
- What changes for DV-2027 entrants
- Where to report Diversity Visa fraud
About this guide
This website is for information only. It is not affiliated with the U.S. government, does not give legal advice or consultations, and does not offer application services. Entries are submitted only on the official entry site, and the current official instructions control, because rules change each year.
Last verified: October 2026. Sources: final rule published March 11, 2026; Department of State instructions for DV-2026; FTC consumer advice on the Diversity Visa lottery scam.