Winner statistics DV-26

People born in any of the following countries were not eligible to participate in the DV-2026: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Read more about the Green Card Lottery requirements.

Every year, the US authorities release detailed statistics about the distribution of Green Cards to worldwide DV-Lottery winners. You will quickly notice that some countries have more winners than others. Why is the distribution of Green Card Lottery winners so different worldwide? Continue reading for an explanation of the worldwide winner statistics.

Maximum limit of Green Cards per country

The idea behind the Green Card Lottery Program is to give people, who would normally not have the chance, the possibility to win an immigrant visa and emigrate to the USA. The program is designed to be fair to all nationalities and keep the United States diverse. Therefore, a certain number of Green Cards are designated for each continent and participating country each year.

Moreover, a certain quota is set each year, which determines the distribution of Green Cards among the different continents with their eligible countries.

Green Card distribution is divided by continents

This means that the 55,000 Green Cards will not be drawn in one go. Instead, six separate lotteries are held, so to speak. The participants from each continent are placed in a separate "lottery pot" and compete with each other, but not with the participants from other continents. In theory, the more people apply within a continent, the lower the chances for each individual. However, the more USA lovers apply from one country within a continent, the more Green Cards will likely be won by that country.

To a European, it basically doesn't matter how many people born in Africa or Asia participate in the Green Card Lottery because they are part of a different contingent.

• The maximum number of Green Cards issued to any given country is set by law to 3,500 per year.
• The highest allocations per continent go to Europe and Africa (about 20,000 Green Cards each).

Winner distribution with Africa as an example

Why do the Green Card statistics show that the distribution of winners among countries is not equal? Some countries, especially in Africa, have a much higher number of winners than the maximum of 3,500.

This is simply because Green Card Lottery winners are randomly selected. Within Africa, most of the applicants come from Algeria, Egypt, and Sudan. If, for example, 10 % of the participants in Africa are from Algeria, then 10 % of the winners within Africa will be statistically from Algeria.

It is, therefore, possible that Algeria has ten times more Green Card Lottery winners than Congo, for example. The likelihood, however, that every winner in Algeria will continue with the Green Card application or meet all the requirements is extremely low.

The reason behind this is as follows:

• Not every winner continues with the Green Card application process.
• This may be due to the fact that the Green Card Lottery winner does not respond or is not able to fulfill the necessary requirements for a Green Card after all.
• Whereas in Europe it is rare for a winner to fail because of education, other regions often lack the necessary schooling or professional qualifications to take advantage of the Green Card.
• In addition, it is often difficult for winners from poorer countries to provide the financial evidence to start a new life in the United States.

Why do some countries have more than 3,500 winners?

The drawing process is basically fair and equal within a continental group. From a purely statistical point of view, it is therefore inevitable that there will be more winners from one country the more people from that country take part.

However, in order to keep immigration diverse, a cap of 3,500 Green Cards per participating country was introduced. In case of an extremely large number of applicants from one nation, more than 3,500 winners can be picked due to the automated selection, but only the first 3,500 qualified responses will be processed and corresponding Green Cards will be issued.

In the countries with less than 3,500 winners, on the other hand, it is extremely likely that you will be issued the desired immigrant visa at the US consulate. This is provided you meet all the requirements and do not make any mistakes when accepting the win. Of course, we help all our customers with the formalities of accepting the win free of charge within the scope of their service tariff!

Green Card distribution based on experience

The probability that winners from Europe will meet all the requirements and will be able to continue without any problems is much higher than in South America or Africa. For this reason, approximately 20 % fewer winners are notified in Europe than in Africa, so the statistically determined "failure rate" is already taken into account during the drawing. Therefore, if you are a qualified winner from any country with a high number of selectees, do not despair! Your chances are quite high that you will get your Green Card, especially if you trust in The American Dream’s advice during the process!

There are always more winners drawn than there are immigrant visas available. This is to ensure that around 55,000 Green Cards can actually be issued each year. Worldwide, approximately 100,000 people are drawn annually. From this group, the US authorities then expect about 55,000 qualified applicants. As a rule, the sum of the "surplus" of notified winners is well calculated by the years of experience of the US government and generally prevents people who are qualified and also want to accept the Green Card from being left out.

However, disqualifications do not only occur due to small mistakes when applying for the Green Card Lottery "by oneself." Winners also often fall by the wayside due to misunderstandings during the further selection process. After all, if you win, you have to fill out about 70 pages of online forms and present a number of documents at a personal appointment at the US consulate.

Fortunately, this cannot happen to customers of The American Dream. With almost 30 years of experience, we ensure that no situation is insurmountable, and a personal advisor always knows a way out. The American Dream takes you on the way to the much-desired immigrant visa – from submitting the application until you hold the Green Card in your hands!

What are you waiting for? Fulfill your very own American Dream and sign up for the Green Card Lottery.