Why Nigeria was barred from the 2026 US Green Card Lottery

According to a YEN.com.gh report, Nigeria is the only African country excluded from the US DV-2026 Diversity Visa programme, based on data from the US Department of State.

The full ineligibility list includes 19 countries, among them Bangladesh, India, China and Mexico, with Nigeria as Africa’s sole exclusion. Every other African nation, including Egypt, Kenya, Algeria and smaller states like Eswatini and Namibia, had citizens registered.

The exclusion stems from Nigeria’s historically high immigration volume to the US, as countries sending over 50,000 immigrants in five years are automatically disqualified. Egypt led African registrations with 5,527 applicants, followed by Algeria and Sudan.