Author DVLottery.me 2025-10-08

Let’s look at the most likely reasons for the delay and discuss whether the Green Card lottery could be canceled this year.

The Diversity Visa (DV) Program, also known as the DV lottery or the Green Card lottery, usually opens every year in the first week of October. However, in 2025, something different happened, as the registration for the DV lottery did not start on October 1 as expected. Let’s look at the most likely reasons for the delay and discuss whether the Green Card lottery could be canceled this year.

The U.S. Department of State has not yet opened the registration for the DV-2027 program. As of early October 2025, there is no official start date, confirming that the lottery has been postponed beyond its usual schedule.

Two main reasons explain this delay: the U.S. federal government shutdown and the introduction of a new $1 electronic registration fee.

When the U.S. government shuts down due to lack of approved funding, many public services stop working. Only “essential” operations continue, while “non-priority” ones are paused. During such shutdowns, visa interviews, lottery management, and some embassy operations are often delayed or deprioritized.

The DV Program system is not considered an essential service. Therefore, its website and internal administrative processes may be temporarily frozen until the shutdown ends.

Reports from U.S. media, immigration forums, and official websites confirm that the ongoing shutdown has directly affected the DV lottery schedule. Until government funding is restored, many digital and visa-related systems cannot be updated or officially launched.

Starting with the DV-2027 Program, every applicant will need to pay a $1 non-refundable electronic registration fee. This article explains the new Green Card lottery fee in detail: https://dvlottery.me/blog/5300-dv-lottery-registration-fee .

This new rule was officially published in mid-September 2025. Because of this, the system had to be updated to allow online payments and verify transactions. These technical changes have delayed the opening of the lottery.

According to internal planning, the upgraded system, including the payment gateway, is expected to go live around October 16, 2025. This means that the public opening of the registration portal may begin in mid-October instead of the usual early-October start.

The U.S. government explained that the new $1 fee is meant to: (*) Help cover administrative costs of the program, (*) Reduce fraud and fake entries, (*) Create a fairer funding system for managing the lottery.

Although the amount is small, the technical and security upgrades required to process millions of payments safely are complex. These include integration with secure payment systems, user verification, and anti-fraud monitoring. All these tasks take time to implement before the system can open to the public.

It is very unlikely that the DV lottery will be completely canceled in 2025. There is no confirmed official announcement that the program is being suspended or discontinued.

The U.S. Department of State continues to mention the upcoming opening and processing of the program, and none of its recent updates on Travel.State.gov indicate any cancellation. When changes or delays occur, the Department always publishes official notices on its website ( https://www.state.gov/ ) or in the Federal Register ( https://www.state.gov/ ). So far, no such notice has appeared.

Some U.S. lawmakers have proposed ending or reforming the DV program: for instance, Representative Mike Collins introduced a bill in 2025 to terminate the lottery. However, ending the Diversity Visa program would require Congressional approval, since it was established by law. The executive branch, including the President or the Department of State, cannot cancel it unilaterally without legislative action. Even if government policies or political priorities change, the existing legal framework ensures that the lottery continues unless Congress votes to modify or abolish it.

Historically, the DV program has survived multiple attempts to restrict or eliminate it. In past administrations, there were repeated discussions about ending or reforming the system, yet it remained in place. While there have been occasional disruptions (such as early termination of a specific program year or technical cancellations due to system errors), the Green Card lottery itself has never been completely cancelled.

Although a full cancellation of the DV lottery in 2025 is very unlikely, applicants should be aware of several potential developments. The lottery could face further delays if the federal government shutdown continues or if technical issues with the registration system persist. In addition, new rules or restrictions might be introduced, such as tighter eligibility requirements, stricter verification procedures, or even higher entry fees.

It is also theoretically possible that Congress could pass legislation to suspend or end the Diversity Visa program. However, such a change would require formal debate and approval, meaning it could not happen suddenly or at the last minute. Overall, while delays or modifications are possible, the program is still expected to proceed unless there is a significant legislative intervention.

Applicants should stay patient and monitor only official government sources, such as the U.S. Department of State website ( https://www.state.gov/ ) and the official DV Program website ( https://dvprogram.state.gov/ ), for real-time updates on the program’s opening date.