Green Card Lottery: US Publishes 17 East African Countries Eligible for DV 2026 Programme
by Oluwadara Adebisi, https://www.facebook.com/legitngnews · Legit.ng News · Join- The US State Department has released the full list of DV 2026 selected entrants, drawn from over 20 million qualified entries worldwide
- 17 East African countries appeared on the published list, with Kenya recording the highest number of selected applicants in the sub-region
- The Diversity Visa programme makes roughly 55,000 permanent resident visas available each year to nationals from eligible countries
The United States Department of State has published the official list of selected entrants for the Diversity Visa 2026 programme, confirming which African countries produced successful lottery registrants ahead of the fiscal year deadline of 30 September 2026.
The figures, released by the Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky, show that the DV 2026 lottery received 20,822,624 qualified entries during the application window, which ran from 2 October to 7 November 2024. From that pool, approximately 129,516 prospective applicants were registered as selected entrants, competing for roughly 55,000 permanent resident visas available under the programme.
East African countries on DV 2026 List
Seventeen East African countries were featured among the selected entrants published by the State Department. Below are the lists of countries, with Kenya leading the sub-region.
- Burundi – 1,616
- Comoros – 12
- Djibouti – 204
- Eritrea – 206
- Ethiopia – 3,287
- Kenya – 3,949
- Madagascar – 48
- Malawi – 159
- Mauritius – 2
- Mozambique – 4
- Rwanda – 1,252
- Somalia – 1,554
- South Sudan – 72
- Tanzania – 404
- Uganda – 1,513
- Zambia – 236
- Zimbabwe – 327
US: How DV 2026 programme works
The Diversity Visa lottery, administered annually by the US State Department, is designed to diversify immigration to the United States by offering permanent residency to nationals from countries that have historically sent fewer immigrants to America. Foreign applicants selected through the random draw are not automatically granted a visa; they must still complete the full consular process, including submitting documents, undergoing medical examinations, and attending an interview at a US embassy or consulate.
The DV 2026 programme covers fiscal year 2026, running from 1 October 2025 through 30 September 2026. Selected entrants who do not complete all processing steps before that deadline forfeit their place in the programme, regardless of their lottery selection.
The full breakdown of selected entrants by country is available on the US State Department's official DV 2026 page.
In a similar report, Legit.ng published that the US announced the full list, eight in number, of selected entrants in Central Africa for the Diversity Visa 2026 programme.
Countries exempt from US Green Card lottery
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that citizens of about 19 countries were barred from the 2026 US Green Card lottery. The DV-2026 programme attracted more than 20 million qualified entries, but only about 51,850 visas will be available.
The US Diversity Visa programme offers a rare route to permanent residence for people from countries with historically low immigration rates to America. However, selected applicants must complete all steps by September 30, 2026, or they will lose the chance to claim the visa.