US Proposes Passport Verification for Diversity Visa Lottery Applicants

The United States has proposed new rules requiring Diversity Visa applicants to submit valid passport details and upload scanned images of key identification pages as part of their initial lottery entry.

The Diversity Visa (DV) Programme, established under the Immigration and Nationality Act, offers up to 55,000 immigrant visas each year to individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the US. Applicants must be nationals of qualifying countries and meet basic education or work experience requirements. 

Entry is through an electronic lottery system, and selected individuals may then apply for an immigrant visa or adjust their status if they are already in the United States. Under the proposed changes, applicants must enter a valid, unexpired passport number and provide clear scans of the biographic and signature pages. 

Entries that lack this documentation or use expired passports would be disqualified. Limited exceptions would apply only in specific cases, such as statelessness or if the applicant is from a country that does not issue passports.

The proposed rule aims to address longstanding issues with fraud, including unauthorised third-party submissions. In many instances, individuals’ information is submitted without their knowledge by intermediaries who later demand payment or engage in coercive practices. 

Documented abuses also include falsified educational records, fabricated employment histories, and staged photographs to falsely establish spousal relationships. By requiring passport documentation at the time of entry, the U.S. Department of State intends to limit fraudulent activity and ensure that applicants retain full control over their submissions. 

Officials also hope that early identity verification will reduce the administrative burden during later stages of the visa process. These changes may pose challenges in regions where access to valid passports is limited or where digital access is poor. However, the Department maintains that strengthening programme security is necessary to preserve fairness in the selection process.

For the DV-2025 cycle, the total number of available visas has been adjusted to 52,056 due to statutory reallocations, including those designated under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA). No single country may receive more than seven percent of the total number of visas in any given year. Selected applicants must receive their visas before the end of the fiscal year, with eligibility for DV-2025 closing on 30 September 2025.