If you’re an Indian citizen on H1B visa or any other relevant visa living in US, dreaming of the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery, often called the US “Green Card Lottery”, this year you’re officially out of it. Indians cannot apply for the US green card lottery at least till 2028. This means that one more route that can convert H1B to PR, investment-based immigration, asylum or applying through family sponsorship in USA is now closed. So, why are Indians not eligible for the green card lottery this year? What is the catch? This is another attempt to reduce Indian immigration to the US. Indians are automatically ineligible for US green card lottery until their migration numbers reduce significantly over a period of time.
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We have mentioned the complete information about the simple meaning of ineligibility, the official ruling, what to do next, and many more. Read further to have answers on why Indians won't be a part of US green card lottery in 2026!
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It might sound dramatic, but yes, citizens of India are ineligible for the DV lottery for years to come. Why? Because the DV programme is designed to favour countries with low levels of immigration to the US, and India simply doesn’t qualify anymore. Hence, making them not be a part of the lottery system aims to ensure that their migration is reduced.
For a country to be eligible, it must have sent fewer than 50,000 immigrants to the US over the past five years. However, India is way above the immigration number requirements. Check the immigration data from Indian to USA from the previous years:
Here’s India’s recent data:
2021: 93,450 Indians immigrated to the US.
2022: 127,010 Indians immigrated to US, which is way more than South America with 99,030 immigrants, Africa with 89,570, or Europe with 75,610 immigrants in that year.
2023: 78,070 Indians arrived in US.
These numbers show that India has passed the “low‑immigration threshold,” automatically disqualifying it until 2028. This means that Indians have to explore some other alternatives to migrate in US, given the current green card lottery blockage. Even if you found a workaround, it would take years of consistently low immigration numbers for India to become eligible again.
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The DV Lottery states: “Countries that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants in the previous five years are ineligible.” Because India meets and exceeds that mark, it’s tagged as a high‑immigration country in DV terms. Therefore, Indian nationals are off the list at least until 2028 or beyond. Some sources say “until at least 2029”.
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The DV‑2026 cycle has excluded India (and other high‑immigration countries like China, Canada, South Korea, Pakistan) from applying. Since the easy “lottery dream” is blocked, Indian applicants must explore other routes to stay in US. They can choose different pathways, such as work visas, family sponsors, and many more. Check below for details:
Convert a work visa (e.g., H‑1B Visa) into permanent residency.
Family sponsorship
Investment‑based routes
These options are slowing down, facing longer wait times and greater scrutiny. So, it is crucial for Indians too take action as early as possible according to their visa status and eligibility. if you’re from India, don’t waste time collecting lottery‑entry hopes; focus on the other routes instead.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
US visas are getting rejected because of the current immigration policies under Donald Trump. Majorly, more and more study visas are getting rejected for Indians due to increased scrutiny and requirements, along with restrictions on international students.
No, Indians in US are not eligible for a green card in 2026 given the current high migration numbers. Citizens of Indian are disqualified from the lottery because of the basic requirements stating that the country to be eligible must have sent fewer than 50,000 immigrants to the US over the past five years.
India is not eligible for the green card lottery in US this year, 2026. Most probably, Indians won't be participating in the lottery till 2028 as the country fails to meet the basic requirements of the green card lottery. Generally, to be eligible for the US Green card lottery, a country must have less than 50,000 immigrants in the previous 5 years, and India is way more than this number.
On Question asked by student community
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