The US Department of State has confirmed that Nigeria is the only African country whose nationals are barred from entering the DV-2026 Diversity Visa programme, also known as the Green Card Lottery. The list, published on the department's official website, includes 19 countries worldwide deemed ineligible for the 2026 cycle, with Nigeria being the sole African nation among them.
Full List of Ineligible Countries and African Participation
The complete ineligibility list for DV-2026 comprises 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, and Vietnam. Nigeria is the only African country on this list.
According to the eligible country breakdown published by the Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky, which administers the programme, all other 49 African nations are eligible. Kenya recorded 3,949 registered prospective applicants, Algeria had 5,457, and Egypt led the African region with 5,527. Sudan followed with 5,226, and Morocco posted 3,670. Smaller nations such as Eswatini, Namibia, and Mauritius also had nationals registered.
How the DV-2026 Programme Operates
The Diversity Visa programme makes up to 55,000 permanent resident visas available annually to people from countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States. For the 2026 cycle, the application window ran for 37 days, from noon on 2 October 2024 to noon on 7 November 2024, attracting a total of 20,822,624 qualified entries worldwide.
From that pool, approximately 129,516 prospective applicants, including selectees and their accompanying spouses and children, were registered as selected entrants. The programme caps the share of visas issued to any single country at seven per cent of the total annual allocation. Selectees must present proof of a high school education or its equivalent, or two years of work experience in a qualifying occupation, at the time of their visa interview.
Visa Caps and Deadlines
All selected applicants must complete their cases before 30 September 2026, after which any unused DV-2026 numbers will lapse. The effective annual limit for DV-2026 has been reduced to approximately 51,850 visas, following deductions under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act and Section 5104 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.
The Department of State noted that dates for the DV-2027 registration period would be publicised in the coming months, and encouraged interested applicants to monitor the official Diversity Visa web page for updates.
African Countries in the 2026 Lottery
In related reporting, Legit.ng previously noted that the US State Department registered about 129,516 prospective applicants for the DV-2026 programme from across the world. African countries featured prominently, with Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, and Kenya among those recording the highest number of selectees.
