The U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery allows people born in eligible countries to apply for a chance to obtain permanent residence in the United States, but eligibility depends on more than nationality alone. The program, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery, is designed to diversify immigration to the United States by selecting applicants from countries with historically lower levels of immigration to the country.
For prospective applicants, one of the most important questions is whether their country qualifies. The answer can be less straightforward than it appears because the U.S. government generally determines eligibility by country of birth, not by the passport a person holds, their current country of residence or the country where they submit their application.
A person born in a country that is not eligible may still qualify under certain circumstances, including through a spouse born in an eligible country or, in some cases, through a parent’s country of birth. These exceptions can make a significant difference for applicants whose birthplace would otherwise prevent them from entering the lottery.
The U.S. Department of State’s published instructions for the DV-2026 program identified 19 countries and areas whose natives could not enter that year’s lottery. They were Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela and Vietnam. For China, the restriction included people born in mainland China and Hong Kong, while natives of Macau and Taiwan remained eligible.
These exclusions were based on immigration figures from the preceding five years. Under the program’s rules, countries from which more than 50,000 people immigrated to the United States through the relevant family-sponsored and employment-based categories are generally excluded from that year’s Diversity Visa program. The Department of Homeland Security reviews those figures annually, so a country that is ineligible one year may become eligible in a later year, and the reverse is also possible.
For that reason, there is no permanent list of countries eligible for every DV Lottery cycle. Applicants should consult the official instructions for the specific program year in which they intend to enter rather than relying on an old list circulating on immigration websites, social media or messaging platforms. The DV-2026 list is useful as a reference, but it should not automatically be treated as the eligibility list for DV-2027 or any subsequent year.
The distinction matters to applicants from countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Pacific. Being born in a country that is not named among the exclusions does not, by itself, guarantee eligibility for a visa. The applicable annual instructions, the applicant’s circumstances and the program’s other qualification requirements must all be considered.
Country eligibility is only the first test. The principal applicant must also meet the education or work-experience requirement. Under the published DV-2026 rules, applicants needed either a formal high school education or its equivalent, representing a course of study comparable to 12 years of elementary and secondary education, or at least two years of qualifying work experience within the previous five years. The work must be in an occupation that meets the U.S. Department of Labor’s criteria for the program. Not every job qualifies, and a general claim of having two years of work experience is not enough.
The country rule also does not always end the matter for someone born in an excluded country. U.S. immigration rules provide limited exceptions involving a spouse or a parent. An applicant may, in qualifying circumstances, use a spouse’s country of birth if the spouse was born in an eligible country. Both spouses must be named on the selected entry, qualify for the visas and intend to enter the United States together. The rules also permit a claim based on a parent’s country of birth when neither parent was born in, nor legally resident in, the applicant’s country of birth at the time of the applicant’s birth. These provisions have specific conditions and should not be treated as automatic exemptions.
An applicant’s passport does not determine which country’s eligibility rules apply. For example, a person born in an excluded country who later becomes a citizen of an eligible country generally remains subject to the rules associated with their birthplace. Equally, someone born in an eligible country may still qualify even if they now live elsewhere and hold another country’s citizenship. The relevant concept is known as “chargeability”, which identifies the country against which the applicant is counted for the program’s immigration limits.
The process is competitive even for people who meet all the requirements. Entries are selected at random from qualified submissions, and selection does not mean that a visa has been approved. Applicants who are selected must still complete the required application steps, provide supporting documents and satisfy the consular officer that they qualify for immigration. The program has a statutory annual limit, and the number of visas ultimately issued depends on the available allocation and the number of selected applicants who meet all requirements.
Applicants should also pay attention to the difference between the lottery’s registration period and the later visa process. The Department of State announced changes to the DV-2027 entry process in November 2025 and said it would announce the registration start date separately. Applicants should check the department’s current instructions for the relevant year before attempting to register, rather than assuming that the lottery opens on the same dates every year.
There is an additional current consideration for people following the program. In guidance updated on August 31, 2026, the Department of State said it had paused the issuance of all diversity immigrant visas while it reviewed screening and vetting procedures. That notice concerns visa issuance, not the underlying annual list of eligible birth countries. Anyone selected or preparing an application should therefore check the latest official guidance before making plans or paying application-related expenses.
The safest starting point is the U.S. Department of State’s official Diversity Visa instructions at travel.state.gov, followed by the entry and status-check portal at dvprogram.state.gov. Registration is free, and applicants should be cautious of anyone promising guaranteed selection or offering to secure a Green Card in exchange for money. Confirming the rules for the correct program year, checking the country-of-birth requirement and verifying the education or work-experience criteria are essential before submitting an entry.
