DV Lottery: US Immigration Lawyer Addresses Registration Delay, Reassures Applicants, Video
- Akua Aboagye, an immigration lawyer in the US, has offered insight regarding the 2027 Diversity Visa Lottery programme
- Speaking in a video, she opened up on the possible reasons behind the delay in the registration of the 2027 Diversity Visa programme
- She then assured persons desiring to relocate to the US under the DV Lottery that the programme had not been cancelled
US-based immigration lawyer Akua Aboagye has provided an interesting update on the 2027 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery programme.
In a post on her TikTok page on October 6, the founder of AK Poku Law, a US-based law firm, indicated that registration for the DV programme had not yet commenced, unlike last year, when registration for the programme started on October 2 and ended in early November.
Source: TikTok
Offering an expert view on the matter, Akua Aboagye indicated that the delay was mainly due to regulatory changes being made to the immigration process.
With this, she said the first possible cause could be linked to the introduction of the one-dollar registration fee.
Delving into details, she disclosed that the U.S. Department of State officially made a rule on September 16, 2025, announcing that applicants for the DV Lottery programme will now pay one dollar when registering. However, the rule will take effect when the online system is activated on October 16.
“Number one is the one dollar registration fee. The U.S. Department of State issued a final rule on September 16, 2025 creating a one dollar entry fee. The rule took effect immediately but actual implementation or collection begins on October 16, 2025 when the online system updates go live.
The fee will be collected through an authorised U.S. government portal at the time of registration which is before the entrant submits and completes the diversity visa entry form DS-5501. The one dollar fee rule is final.”
Lawyer Akua Aboagye then touched on the proposed passport rule, which she mentioned could be a possible cause for the delay in the commencement of the DV Lottery programme.
Source: Getty Images
The new rule, proposed on August 5, 2025, now requires prospective US entrants to provide a valid passport number and a bio-page scan.
Akua Aboagye, however, explained that since the review process on the new rule was still ongoing, it was most unlikely that the new passport requirement would be enforced for the Diversity Visa 2027 programme.
“Now the second rule which is affecting the diversity visa lottery program is the passport rule. This rule was published on August 5th, 2025. It's a proposed rule and it's supposed to require entrants to enter a valid passport number and scan of the bio page.
Now public comments for this rule closed on September 19, 2025. Before the rule takes effect, the Department of State must review all comments submitted, finalise the language of the rule, obtain OMB approval and then they'll publish the final rule with an effective start date. The passport rule is still under review. It's not likely that it may be used this DV 2027.”
She then concluded by urging prospective applicants to remain calm because the DV Lottery had not been cancelled.
“Our best assessment is that the Department of State may be waiting to align the start of the diversity visa registration with the new one dollar fee collection system which becomes active around October 16, 2025,” she said in the video.
Watch the video below:
Lady denied US visa over typing error
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that a young woman who won the Diversity Visa Lottery opened up on the reason why she was refused the visa.
The lady mentioned that she went for the interview and was eventually denied the visa because of a typo in her surname.
Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
