The DV-2026 Diversity Visa program is one of the few immigration paths where the government’s monthly number decisions can speed up—or slow down—real cases in real time. The newly released February 2026 regional rank cutoffs send a clear signal: most regions moved forward compared with January 2026, but Europe moved backward.
That mix matters because DV cases are tied to a hard deadline: DV entitlement ends on September 30, 2026, and “no carryover is allowed beyond the fiscal year end.” If your case isn’t issued by then, it can’t be issued later. The source material also warns that DV numbers “can be exhausted before September 30,” meaning availability “through the end of the fiscal year cannot be taken for granted.”
February’s movement creates two immediate groups of people: those whose rank numbers newly became eligible in Africa and Asia, and European selectees who were eligible under January’s higher cutoff but are not eligible under February’s lower cutoff. According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, that Europe retrogression is the month’s most important caution because it proves cutoffs do not always rise in a straight line, even within the same fiscal year.
For official background on the program itself, the United States 🇺🇸 Department of State publishes DV information here: U.S. Department of State Diversity Visa Program.
How cutoffs work
A DV cutoff number is often misunderstood, so it helps to translate it into plain terms.
- The published rank cutoff for a region is not a score, and it is not a priority date.
- It is also not a promise that an interview will be scheduled.
- It is a monthly threshold: visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers below the cutoff for that month.
Sometimes a region is marked as “Current,” which means all rank numbers in that region are eligible. But DV-2026 is operating with numeric cutoffs across regions rather than being current everywhere.
The best way to read a cutoff is that it is “the maximum case number that can be processed far enough to use a visa number that month,” and even then it remains “subject to qualifications, background checks, document readiness, and capacity.”
A cutoff can open the door for your rank number, but your case still needs to be ready to move through the pipeline.
When cutoffs jump forward, prepared applicants tend to benefit first because they can be scheduled efficiently. When cutoffs tighten—or retrogress—people can lose time even if they expected steady month-to-month progress.
DV-2026 supply limits
To understand why cutoffs sometimes surge and sometimes tighten, keep DV’s overall supply rules in mind.
- DV is often described as offering up to 55,000 visas each fiscal year, but DV-2026 is working under reductions that tighten the effective annual supply.
- Two separate reductions are described for DV-2026:
- A NACARA-related deduction reduces the annual limit to approximately 54,850.
- Amendments in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 further reduce the limit to approximately 52,000.
Visas are divided among six geographic regions, and there is a country-level guardrail: no single country can receive more than seven percent of available diversity visas in a year.
This matters practically: a region can move quickly early in the year and still face tightening later if issuances rise faster than expected or if demand from particular countries pushes against the seven-percent cap.
The regional allocation model drives monthly cutoff choices. Decision-makers balance demand, processing capacity, and the risk of oversubscription. A large forward move can reflect confidence that visas remain available in that region; a backward move can reflect recalibration to avoid running out of numbers too soon.
February 2026 regional rank cutoffs
Below are the published numbers exactly as released in the source material. Remember: visas are available only for rank numbers below the published cutoff.
January 2026 DV-2026 cutoffs (baseline)
- Africa: 35,000 (Except: Algeria 20,000; Egypt 16,000)
- Asia: 15,000 (Except: Nepal 6,000)
- Europe: 8,500
- North America (Bahamas): 20
- Oceania: 1,100
- South America and the Caribbean: 1,850
February 2026 DV-2026 cutoffs (new)
- Africa: 45,000 (Except: Algeria 37,000; Egypt 21,000)
- Asia: 30,000 (Except: Nepal 11,000)
- Europe: 6,500
- North America (Bahamas): 25
- Oceania: 1,175
- South America and the Caribbean: 2,000
Direction of travel (month-to-month changes)
- Africa: +10,000 (35,000 → 45,000)
- Algeria: +17,000 (20,000 → 37,000)
- Egypt: +5,000 (16,000 → 21,000)
- Asia: +15,000 (15,000 → 30,000)
- Nepal: +5,000 (6,000 → 11,000)
- Europe: −2,000 (8,500 → 6,500) — retrogression
- North America (Bahamas): +5 (20 → 25)
- Oceania: +75 (1,100 → 1,175)
- South America and the Caribbean: +150 (1,850 → 2,000)
Europe’s retrogression is notable: selectees in the 6,500–8,499 band were eligible under January’s cutoff but are not eligible under February’s.
Step-by-step case journey
Think of DV-2026 as a month-by-month journey with clear checkpoints: eligibility under the cutoff, case readiness, background checks, and capacity.
- Identify your region and rank number.
- Your DV rank number is tied to a geographic region. Compare your number to that month’s cutoff and confirm whether you are below it.
- Check for country exceptions inside your region.
- Use the country-specific cutoff (when present) rather than the broader regional cutoff. February 2026 includes exceptions for Algeria, Egypt, and Nepal.
- Treat “eligible” as an opening, not an appointment.
- A cutoff is not a guarantee of interview scheduling; it simply means a visa is available to qualified applicants that month.
- Focus on readiness factors you can control.
- Prioritize document readiness, accurate forms, and timely responses to background-check requests. The source lists “qualifications, background checks, document readiness, and capacity” as practical constraints.
- Track the fiscal-year clock.
- Remember entitlement ends September 30, 2026, and numbers may be exhausted before then. DV does not allow waiting past the fiscal-year end.
Region-specific scenarios
Different regions create different realities depending on where your number falls.
Africa: newly eligible ranks and fast-moving exceptions
- If your case number is 35,001–44,999, February is the month you cross into eligibility region-wide.
- Algeria’s jump to 37,000 is disproportionate relative to the region and can open eligibility for many who were previously blocked.
- Egypt’s +5,000 increase is meaningful but smaller.
- Practical advantage goes to applicants who are documentarily ready when a region advances by 10,000 in a single month.
Asia: doubled cutoff with a still-limited Nepal track
- Asia’s cutoff doubled to 30,000, making selectees in 15,001–29,999 the immediate winners.
- Nepal rose to 11,000, increasing eligibility for Nepalese selectees while remaining constrained relative to the broader Asia allocation.
- A sudden forward push benefits cases that can be scheduled efficiently.
Europe: retrogression and risk management
- Europe’s move from 8,500 to 6,500 is the month’s most important change.
- Selectees with numbers 6,500–8,499 were eligible in January but are not eligible in February.
- Those below 6,500 who are ready benefit most, because the lower cutoff concentrates availability among lower case numbers.
- With the September 30, 2026 hard stop, any tightened month raises the urgency to be ready the moment cutoffs reopen.
Smaller regions: modest moves where every number counts
- North America (Bahamas): 20 → 25 → newly eligible 21–24
- Oceania: 1,100 → 1,175 → newly eligible 1,101–1,174
- South America and the Caribbean: 1,850 → 2,000 → newly eligible 1,851–1,999
In regions with smaller numeric ranges, even small monthly steps matter because the overall room is limited and the fiscal-year deadline is absolute.
Key takeaways and warnings
- Deadline: Entitlement ends September 30, 2026. No carryover allowed.
- Not a guarantee: A cutoff is eligibility threshold, not an interview promise.
- Readiness matters: Those who are documentarily ready benefit first when cutoffs move forward.
- Retrogression possible: Cutoffs can move backward within the same fiscal year — Europe is the February example.
- Supply constraints: DV-2026 operates under reduced effective supply (~52,000), and country caps (7%) can affect regional moves.
- Numbers can be exhausted before the fiscal-year end.
If you want, I can convert the January/February cutoff numbers into a compact table for quick reference, or help you check which band your rank number falls into and what that means for your next steps.
February 2026 DV cutoffs advanced Africa (35,000→45,000) and Asia (15,000→30,000) while Europe retrogressed (8,500→6,500). Notable national exceptions: Algeria, Egypt, and Nepal. DV-2026 faces reduced effective supply (~52,000) and a hard fiscal-year deadline on September 30, 2026; no carryover is permitted. Cutoffs are eligibility thresholds, not interview guarantees. Applicants should verify region and rank, prioritize document readiness, and monitor monthly updates to avoid losing opportunities.
