US Visa Lottery 2027 (DV-2027): Dates, the New $1 Fee and What Ghanaians Need to Know

Short answer: the DV-2027 US visa lottery (the "American lottery") did not open in October 2025 as usual. A US federal court has now ordered the State Department to announce the dates by 29 October 2026 and open registration by 1 November 2026, for 30 days. Entry costs $1, you need a valid passport, and the only official website is dvprogram.state.gov.

Last checked: 22 October 2026. We will update this page as soon as the official dates are published.

When does DV-2027 registration open?

Registration normally runs every October to early November. For DV-2027 it never opened: in November 2025 the State Department said it was changing the entry process and would announce dates later. On 14 October 2026 a federal judge in California (Red Eagle Law v. Rubio) ordered the Department to:

• publish the registration dates, website and rules by 29 October 2026;
• open registration by 1 November 2026 and keep it open for 30 days;
• let selected entrants know by 3 December 2026.

The government can still appeal, so treat these dates as expected until the official instructions appear on travel.state.gov.

What is new this year?

• A $1 entry fee. Entering used to be free. Since a rule published in September 2025, every entry pays a non-refundable $1 on the official site. Selected entrants still pay the $330 visa fee later.
• A valid passport is required. Since 10 April 2026 you must give your passport details and upload a scan of the passport's photo page. No passport, no entry, so if yours has expired, start renewing it now.
• Small form changes. The form now asks for "sex" and "date of birth".

Can Ghanaians apply?

Ghana was eligible for DV-2026, with 1,642 people from Ghana (winners and their families) selected. The DV-2027 country list comes with the official instructions, so check it when it is published. Two other points:

• Ghana is not on the US travel ban list (Proclamation 10998), which restricts immigrant visas for Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Benin, Senegal, The Gambia and others.
• Ghana was on a separate list of 75 countries whose immigrant visas were paused in January 2026. A US court ended that pause in August 2026.

Who qualifies?

You must be born in an eligible country (or claim one through your spouse or, in some cases, a parent), and have either a high school education (12 years of formal schooling, so in Ghana, completing SHS) or two years of qualifying work experience in the last five years. See how to apply step by step.

What are the chances?

About 55,000 visas are available each year, and DV-2026 had more than 20 million qualified entries worldwide. Most people are not selected, which is exactly why scammers sell "guaranteed" places. Nobody can raise your chances. Read DV lottery scams in Ghana before you pay anyone.

Your DV-2027 checklist

1. Get or renew your passport now.
2. Take a new photo that meets the rules: DV photo requirements.
3. Enter once, yourself, on dvprogram.state.gov when registration opens, and pay only the $1.
4. Print or screenshot your confirmation number.
5. Check your result on the official site: how to check DV results.