Diversity lottery included countries 2027
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Executive summary
The Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program for fiscal year 2027 (DV‑2027) admits applicants from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States, and the U.S. Department of State publishes the definitive eligible/ineligible country list each year [1] [2]. As of late 2025 some widely used secondary sites and immigration advisers have published DV‑2027 lists—largely reproducing State Department rules—and they show most African and many European, Caribbean, and Oceanic countries as eligible while listing high‑sending countries in Asia (e.g., Bangladesh, mainland China, India, Pakistan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam) as ineligible [3] [4] [5].
1. How eligibility is determined and where the official list comes from
Eligibility for any DV year is computed by the State Department using recent immigration flow data: countries that sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the prior five years are excluded, and the Department publishes an official list of eligible and ineligible countries in the annual DV instructions and Federal Register [4] [2] [1]. Secondary compilers reiterate this methodology and note that chargeability rules and dependent/territory treatments (for example, Gaza/West Bank, Macau/Taiwan) follow the State Department’s instructions; those instructions are the authoritative source [3] [2].
2. What the publicly available DV‑2027 country lists show (patterns, not an exhaustive government table)
Several immigration help sites and law firms that track the State Department’s releases have posted DV‑2027 eligible‑country lists: their published copies show wide eligibility across Africa (Algeria through Zimbabwe, with dependent‑area clarifications), many Eastern European and some Western European areas, the Caribbean and Oceania, and selective Asian exceptions such as Macau SAR and Taiwan remaining eligible while mainland China and several high‑sending Asian countries are listed as ineligible [3] [6] [5]. These secondary lists also repeat basic program facts that no single country may receive more than roughly 7% of the visas and that up to 55,000 visas are available [7] [8].
3. Which countries are commonly reported as ineligible for DV‑2027 and why that matters
Multiple sources explicitly name Bangladesh, China (mainland-born and sometimes Hong Kong), India, Pakistan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam among the Asia region countries not eligible for the DV‑2027 cycle because recent immigration totals exceed the statutory threshold; that exclusion is important because it blocks applicants born in those countries unless they can claim chargeability through a spouse or parent born elsewhere [4] [3] [5]. Sources also point out special chargeability rules for territories—e.g., Gaza strip, West Bank, Golan Heights—where birthplaces are chargeable to particular countries as noted in the State Department guidance [3].
4. Caveats, credibility checks and the commercial ecosystem around DV lists
While many reliable advocacy, legal and government pages summarize the eligible countries, the authoritative and final list is the Department of State’s annual instructions and Federal Register posting; several commercial sites reproduce those lists but sometimes add fees, guidance or paid services—and readers should be cautious about unofficial fee claims and scams [1] [9] [5]. The State Department itself warns that the list changes year to year and that applicants must consult the official DV instructions for the precise list and application timing [2] [1].
5. Practical next steps and reporting limits
Public reporting and immigration law firms available in late 2025 provide working DV‑2027 country lists and identify ineligible Asian countries, but this summary does not reproduce a full official table; for final, legally binding eligibility a review of the Department of State’s DV‑2027 instructions or the Federal Register notice is required and those documents should be consulted when the State Department posts them [2] [10] [1].