Why do natives of certain countries not qualify for the Diversity Visa Lottery / USA Green Card Lottery program?
Diversity Visas are intended to provide an immigration opportunity for persons from countries other than the countries which send large numbers of immigrants to the U.S. The law states that no Diversity Visas shall be provided for natives of “high admission” countries. The law defines this to mean countries from which a total of 50,000 persons in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based visa categories immigrated to the United States during the previous five years. Each year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adds the family and employment immigrant admission figures for the previous five years in order to identify the countries whose natives will be ineligible for the annual Diversity Visa Lottery / USA Green Card Lottery. Because there is a separate determination made before each annual DV entry period, the list of countries whose natives are not eligible may change from one year to the next.
