DV-2026 Green Card Lottery: Nigeria, other countries barred from US diversity visa programme and why
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The US Department of State has published its official DV-2026 selectee data, confirming that citizens of 19 countries, Nigeria among them, were shut out of this year’s Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery entirely.
The Diversity Visa (DV) programme is a US immigration channel that hands out permanent resident status through an annual random drawing rather than through family ties or a job offer. Congress created it specifically to bring in immigrants from countries that have historically sent relatively few people to the US, spreading green cards more evenly across the world instead of concentrating them among a handful of nations.
That’s also the programme’s built-in catch: any country that has already sent a large number of immigrants to the US over the preceding five years is automatically excluded from that year’s drawing. Because a small group of countries — including some of the world’s most populous — consistently exceed that threshold, they get locked out of the lottery pool year after year, even though citizens from most other nations remain free to enter.
Entry itself is free and happens through a short online registration during an annual window announced by the State Department. Winners are chosen purely by random computer draw from everyone who qualifies in an eligible country, and selection is only the first step — it doesn’t guarantee a visa. Selectees still need to meet an education or work-experience threshold, pass medical and security checks, and either attend a consular interview abroad or, if they’re already living legally in the US, apply to adjust their status. Everything has to be wrapped up within a single fiscal year, or the selection expires.
The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky, which runs the selection process, registered close to 129,516 prospective applicants for DV-2026, a figure that includes not just principal selectees but their spouses and children too.
That pool was drawn at random from a much larger applicant base: over 20.8 million qualifying entries were submitted worldwide during a 37-day registration window that ran from October 2 to November 7, 2024.
Full List of Countries Excluded From DV-2026
The State Department confirmed that nationals of these 19 countries could not take part in this year’s drawing at all:
- Bangladesh
- Brazil
- Canada
- China (including Hong Kong SAR)
- Colombia
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Haiti
- Honduras
- India
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- South Korea
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
Every country on that list has consistently sent large numbers of immigrants to the US through other visa pathways, which is precisely the criterion that disqualifies a nation from the Diversity Visa pool.
DV-2026: Why Were These Countries Excluded?
The State Department doesn’t publish a country-by-country explanation alongside the list, but the exclusion rule itself is written directly into the law that governs the programme. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, any country classified as a “high-admission” nation — one that has sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the US across the five years immediately before a given DV cycle — is automatically dropped from that year’s drawing.
The logic behind the rule is about balance rather than punishment. The Diversity Visa programme exists specifically to open a pathway for people from countries that are otherwise underrepresented in US immigration, since most green cards are issued through family sponsorship or employment routes that naturally favour nations with older, larger immigrant communities already established in the US. Countries like Mexico, India, China, and the Philippines send large numbers of people through those existing channels every year, so allowing them into the lottery as well would work against the programme’s core purpose of spreading opportunity to countries with historically low migration numbers.
This is also why the list of excluded countries isn’t fixed. A nation’s status is recalculated ahead of each annual cycle based on the latest five-year admission figures, so a country can drop off the list once its immigration numbers fall, or get added if they rise. Nigeria’s continued presence on the list reflects the sustained, high volume of Nigerian immigrants entering the US through work, family, and other visa categories in recent years, not any policy decision aimed specifically at the country.
How the DV-2026 Numbers Work
The programme’s legal basis, section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, allows for as many as 55,000 diversity visas each year. For DV-2026, though, that number has been trimmed to roughly 51,850, after adjustments required by the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) and the National Defence Authorisation Act for fiscal year 2024. The fiscal year in question runs from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026.
Visas aren’t handed out evenly at random across the globe, either — they’re split across six geographic regions, with a rule capping any single country’s share at no more than 7% of the total allocation, so no one nation can dominate the results.
DV-2026: Eligibility and Deadlines for Selectees
Being picked doesn’t automatically mean qualifying. Principal applicants still need to show a high school-level education or its equivalent, or two years of work experience gained in the last five years in a job that typically requires at least two years of training.
Selectees who are already living legally in the US don’t have to leave the country to process their case — they can apply to adjust their status directly through US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The clock is the biggest constraint: everything, from documentation to interview to final approval, must be completed by September 30, 2026. After that date, a DV-2026 selection carries no further weight, regardless of the circumstances.
The State Department has indicated that registration dates for the next cycle, DV-2027, will be announced in the coming months.
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FAQ
Which countries are excluded from DV-2026? Nineteen countries were barred: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
Why is Nigeria excluded from the 2026 Green Card Lottery? Nigeria, like the other 18 countries on the list, has sent a high volume of immigrants to the US through other visa channels over the past five years, which disqualifies it from that year’s Diversity Visa drawing under the programme’s rules.
How many visas are available under DV-2026? Up to 55,000 diversity visas are authorised annually, but legal deductions have reduced the actual DV-2026 allocation to approximately 51,850 visas.
How many people were registered as DV-2026 selectees? Around 129,516 people, including principal selectees and their accompanying spouses and children, were registered globally.
Is there a limit on how many visas one country can receive? Yes. Visas are distributed across six geographic regions, and no single country can receive more than 7% of the total allocation in a given year.
What is the deadline for DV-2026 selectees to complete their visa process? All selectees must complete visa issuance or status adjustment by September 30, 2026. There are no extensions, and missing the deadline voids the selection.
When will DV-2027 registration open? The State Department has not yet announced dates for the DV-2027 registration window, though it says an update will come in the coming months.