The United States Department of State has officially released the full list of countries whose citizens were selected for the Diversity Visa (DV) 2026 programme, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery. Dozens of African nations feature prominently among the eligible states, with Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, and Kenya recording the highest number of selectees on the continent.
Programme Overview and Selection Numbers
The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky, registered approximately 129,516 prospective applicants — including selectees and their accompanying spouses and children — after conducting a random draw from 20,822,624 qualified entries. These entries were submitted during a 37-day window between October 2 and November 7, 2024.
The programme makes up to approximately 51,850 permanent resident visas available for fiscal year 2026, which runs from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. This figure reflects deductions under the NACARA (Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act) and National Defence Authorisation Act provisions.
African Countries on the DV-2026 List and Their Selectee Numbers
The following 52 African countries were registered for the DV-2026 programme, with the number of prospective applicants listed for each:
- Algeria — 5,457
- Angola — 763
- Benin — 1,064
- Botswana — 7
- Burkina Faso — 252
- Burundi — 1,616
- Cabo Verde — 35
- Cameroon — 3,533
- Central African Republic — 19
- Chad — 482
- Comoros — 12
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the — 2,210
- Congo, Republic of the — 448
- Côte d'Ivoire — 926
- Djibouti — 204
- Egypt — 5,527
- Equatorial Guinea — 12
- Eritrea — 206
- Eswatini — 3
- Ethiopia — 3,287
- Gabon — 62
- The Gambia — 198
- Ghana — 1,642
- Guinea — 1,051
- Guinea-Bissau — 10
- Kenya — 3,949
- Lesotho — 6
- Liberia — 1,593
- Libya — 276
- Madagascar — 48
- Malawi — 159
- Mali — 268
- Mauritania — 261
- Mauritius — 2
- Morocco — 3,670
- Mozambique — 4
- Namibia — 3
- Niger — 109
- Rwanda — 1,252
- Senegal — 478
- Sierra Leone — 639
- Somalia — 1,554
- South Africa — 187
- South Sudan — 72
- Sudan — 5,226
- Tanzania — 404
- Togo — 2,473
- Tunisia — 202
- Uganda — 1,513
- Western Sahara — 2
- Zambia — 236
- Zimbabwe — 327
Qualification Requirements and Next Steps for Selectees
To qualify, principal applicants must show proof of at least a high school education or its equivalent, or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training. Visas are shared across six global regions, with no single country allowed to receive more than seven per cent of the total allocation.
Selectees who are already living in the United States with legal status can apply to adjust their immigration status through US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Those outside the country must follow the instructions in their notification letters and move quickly, as any selectee who does not secure a visa or adjusted status by September 30, 2026 will lose all benefit from their DV-2026 selection. The same deadline applies to spouses and children seeking derivative status.
The State Department said dates for the DV-2027 registration period will be announced in the coming months on its official Diversity Visa page. In a related story, Legit.ng reported hope for some African countries as a US court overturned Trump's visa ban. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that nationals from four West African countries — Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Sierra Leone — face outright entry suspensions, meaning they are largely unable to obtain visas to enter the United States under the travel ban.
