The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky has registered and notified the selectees who are eligible to participate in the DV-2026 Diversity Visa (DV) program.  Random selection of DV participants was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which makes up to *55,000 permanent resident visas available annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.  Approximately 129,516 prospective applicants (i.e., selectees and their spouses and children) have been registered, can confirm their selection, and may be eligible to make an application for an immigrant visa. Since selection is random and blind to the number of family members who might immigrate with the selectee, and it is likely that some of the selectees will not complete their cases or will be found ineligible for a visa, this larger figure should ensure that all DV-2026 numbers can be used during fiscal year 2026 (FY26: October 1, 2025, until September 30, 2026).

Entrants registered for the DV-2026 program were selected at random from 20,822,624 qualified entries received during the 37-day application period that ran from noon, Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, until noon, Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, November 7, 2024.  The visas will be apportioned among the six geographic regions to ensure a maximum of seven percent are issued to persons chargeable to any single country.  During the visa interview, principal applicants must provide proof of a high school education or its equivalent, or two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience within the past five years.  Those selected will need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly.  Applicants should follow the instructions in their notification letter and must fully complete all required steps.

Selectees who are physically present with legal status in the United States may apply to adjust their status by first contacting the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for information on the requirements and procedures.  Once the total *55,000 visa numbers have been used, the program for fiscal year 2026 will end.  Selectees who do not receive visas or status by September 30, 2026, will derive no further benefit from their DV-2026 registration.  Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2026 principal applicants are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2026.

Dates for the DV-2027 program registration period will be widely publicized in the coming months.  Those interested in entering the DV-2027 program should check the Department of State’s Diversity Visa web page in the coming months.

*The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulated that up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually allocated diversity visas be made available for use under the NACARA program.  This will result in reduction of the DV-2026 annual limit to approximately 54,850.  Additionally, Section 5104 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 amended the NACARA’s provisions on the Diversity Visa program such that the number of visas made available under the NDAA will also be deducted from the 55,000 DVs annually allocated.  This will result in an additional reduction of the DV-2026 annual limit to approximately 51,850.

The following is the statistical breakdown by foreign state of chargeability of prospective applicants (i.e., selectees and their spouses and children) who have been registered for the DV-2026 program:

Natives of the following countries were not eligible to participate in DV-2026: 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.