DV-2027 Registration Opens by November 1: What Kenyans Should Prepare Now

Registration for the DV-2027 Green Card Lottery must open by 1 November 2026 under a federal court order issued this month, giving prospective Kenyan applicants a narrow window to get their documents in order before entries close.

The US District Court for the Southern District of California, amending an injunction secured in litigation brought by Red Eagle Law, has directed the State Department to announce registration details by 29 October, open the entry period by 1 November, and notify successful entrants by 3 December. The deadline for issuing visas remains 30 September 2027.

The compressed calendar makes preparation matter more than in a typical year. Here is what applicants need to know before the entry window opens.

Who can enter

Kenya remains an eligible country. Two requirements disqualify more entrants than any other:

• Education: a high school education or its equivalent — defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of formal elementary and secondary education; or
• Work experience: two years of work experience within the last five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform.

A university degree is not required. An up-to-date Kenyan secondary education satisfies the education requirement.

The photo — the number one reason entries are disqualified

In past cycles, more entries have failed on photograph problems than on any other single ground. The State Department's requirements are strict and electronically enforced:

• Taken within the last six months, reflecting your current appearance
• Square, 2x2 inches (50x50mm) proportions; digital images at least 600x600 pixels
• Plain white or off-white background
• No glasses, no head covering unless worn daily for religious reasons
• Head height between 50 and 69 percent of the image height; face fully visible
• No filters, no retouching, no scanned old photographs

Every applicant — including spouses and all children listed on the entry — needs a compliant photograph. Reusing a photo submitted to a previous year's lottery is grounds for disqualification.

One entry per person

Submitting more than one entry per person disqualifies all of that person's entries. A married couple may each submit one entry, however, listing each other and their children as derivatives — effectively doubling a household's chances. Children listed on a parent's entry are included automatically and do not need their own entries, although an adult child who is eligible in their own right may enter separately.

Entry is free — and only one site is official

The only official entry point is the State Department's site, dvprogram.state.gov. Entering costs nothing. There is no fee until the visa application stage after selection, when the Diversity Visa fee — approximately $330 per person — is payable only through official channels.

The State Department does not notify winners by email, phone, or letter. Results are published exclusively through the Entrant Status Check tool on the official site. Any organization claiming to have received your results, charging a registration fee, or guaranteeing selection is a scam.

Save the confirmation number

Every completed entry generates a confirmation page with a unique number. Losing it means there is no way to check whether you were selected — the department does not reissue confirmation numbers. Save it digitally and in print, in more than one place.

This cycle is different

With notification set for 3 December and the statutory visa deadline fixed at 30 September 2027, selected entrants will have months — not the usual year-plus — to complete the DS-260 immigrant visa application, gather civil documents, complete medical examinations, and attend consular interviews in Nairobi. Applicants selected under DV-2027 should plan to file the DS-260 immediately upon notification rather than waiting.

Selection does not guarantee a visa. The program makes up to 55,000 immigrant visas available annually, and no more visas are issued once the allocation is exhausted or the fiscal year ends — whichever comes first.