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Indians Not Eligible For US Green Card Lottery This Year – Here’s Why

India has been omitted from the Diversity Visa Lottery 2026, in the recent State Department visa bulletin.

Other Asian nations like Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, and South Korea are similarly excluded. (Representative)

India has been excluded from the latest update of the Diversity Visa Lottery 2026, according to a November visa bulletin published by the State Department. Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, and South Korea are also not on the Asia list.
The Department of State administers the Diversity Visa (DV) immigrant visa program, which is an annual program for immigration to the United States. Up to 55,000 immigrants can enter the United States each year from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
Countries like Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, UAE, and Yemen, which have seen relatively lower immigration to the US, have been included in the list, as per the latest bulletin.

For countries that qualify, the latest visa allocations were announced on Wednesday. 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.

H-1B process to see more changes?

Since coming to power, the Donald Trump administration has tightened immigration policies, including the H-1B visa route. Last month, the country raised the H-1B visa fee from $2,000–$5,000 to a whopping $100,000 (approximately Rs 88 lakh). This was later announced as a one-time fee that US companies will have to pay to the government if they want to hire foreign employees.
At the same time, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted that there will be significant changes in the H-1B visa process before February 2026.
Lutnick said that with the USD 100,000 fee on applications, “at least it shouldn’t be overrun with these people. But I think you’re going to see a real thoughtful change going forward. And that’s what I expect will happen.”
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