Visas: Enhancing Vetting and Combatting Fraud in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program
Document type: Rule Publication date: 2026-03-11 Document number: 2026-04737
Abstract
The Department of State (“Department”) is amending regulations governing the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (“DV Program”) to improve the integrity of, and combat fraud in, the program. These amendments require a petitioner to the DV Program to provide valid, unexpired passport information and to upload a scan of the biographic and signature page in the electronic entry form or to otherwise indicate that he or she is exempt from this requirement. Additionally, the Department is standardizing and amending its regulations to add the word “shall” to simplify guidance for consular officers; ensure the use of the term “sex” in lieu of “gender”; and replace the term “age” in the DV Program regulations with the phrase “date of birth” to accurately reflect the information collected and maintained by the Department during the immigrant visa process.
Official sources
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Why this matters for immigrants
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Related procedural information
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Last verified: 2026-05-27. General procedural information — not legal advice. Federal Register rules change frequently; always verify the current version at the source URL.
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