- Eligibility for all 2026 Diversity Visa selectees expires on September 30, 2026.
- A December 2025 processing pause remains active, preventing the actual issuance of immigrant visas.
- Visa numbers are limited to 55,000 for over 129,000 registered applicants this cycle.
The State Department has warned Diversity Visa selectees that their eligibility ends on September 30, 2026, while an ongoing pause on visa issuances leaves applicants racing to finish processing before the program year closes.
Winning the Diversity Visa lottery does not itself produce a green card. A selected entrant must establish eligibility, complete processing, have a visa number available and receive the visa within the applicable program year.
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The State Department says the program’s entitlement ends with fiscal year 2026. No automatic extension carries unused eligibility into fiscal year 2027.
The clock is already running. Visa numbers could run out before the statutory deadline, and applicants still waiting for interviews, documents, security checks or administrative processing face the greatest pressure.
A selection creates an opportunity, not a guaranteed visa
The program selects more prospective applicants than the number of visas available. Up to 55,000 immigrant visas are authorized for the 2026 cycle, while approximately 129,516 prospective applicants, including selectees and eligible family members, were registered for the fiscal year 2026 program.
Those selectees came from 20,822,624 qualified entries submitted during the registration period from Oct 2 through Nov 7, 2024. Selection identifies a potential applicant. It does not guarantee visa issuance.
A case number below the applicable monthly cutoff may make a case eligible for a visa number. It does not satisfy the remaining legal and procedural requirements.
The September regional cutoffs are 101,250 for Africa, 40,000 for Asia, 47,500 for Europe, 3,000 for Oceania and 4,750 for South America and the Caribbean. Separate country limits may apply.
| Region | September 2026 cutoff number |
|---|---|
| Africa | 101,250 |
| Asia | 40,000 |
| Europe | 47,500 |
| Oceania | 3,000 |
| South America and the Caribbean | 4,750 |
No single country can receive more than 7% of the available diversity visas in a year, or approximately 3,850 visas.
A December pause has consumed the remaining processing window
The Department of State announced on December 23, 2025, that it had paused all diversity immigrant visa issuances. The department said the review would examine screening and vetting protocols in the program.
“Effective immediately, the Department of State has paused all visa issuances to diversity immigrant visa applicants. This pause will allow the Department to undertake a review of the screening and vetting protocols in the DV program.”
The pause followed direction from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the Trump administration. It came after a December 18, 2025 security review triggered by high-profile shooting incidents in New England involving Brown University and MIT, allegedly involving a former DV beneficiary.
Applicants abroad can still attend consular interviews, but visas are not being issued. Their cases remain pending while the program year continues to approach its end.
The State Department’s official instructions state: “All DV-2026 diversity visa program applicants must be found eligible for, and obtain, their visa or adjust status by the end of fiscal year 2026 (September 30, 2026).”
USCIS holds adjustment cases inside the United States
The Department of Homeland Security has taken a separate step affecting selectees who seek adjustment of status inside the United States. On December 19, 2025, USCIS issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193, titled “Hold and Review of Pending USCIS Adjustment of Status Applications Filed by Aliens Under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.”
The memorandum placed an immediate hold on all Form I-485 applications filed by DV selectees inside the country. Applicants may attend interviews, but USCIS cannot grant final approval while the hold remains in effect.
USCIS’s March 30, 2026 alert, “Update on USCIS’ Strengthened Screening and Vetting,” said the hold under PM-602-0193 remained in place. The agency said the review would help ensure applicants “do not present a threat to national security or public safety.”
The additional review may include social media checks, financial vetting and re-interviews under Operation PARRIS. Those measures add possible steps while applicants have a fixed end date for eligibility.
Administrative processing cannot continue past the program year
Administrative processing creates a direct timing risk. A case may still require security checks, additional documents or other review after an interview.
That delay cannot simply roll into the next fiscal year. If required processing does not finish while visa numbers and DV eligibility remain available, the applicant can lose the opportunity to receive the immigrant visa.
Derivative beneficiaries face the same deadline. A spouse or child seeking a visa through the principal selectee cannot carry unused program eligibility into the next fiscal year.
The family’s cases remain tied to the principal applicant’s ability to complete the process and receive a visa before eligibility ends. This applies to derivative spouses and children abroad as well as family members included in adjustment cases.
Pending applicants should complete each outstanding step promptly
Selectees should check their case status and follow the official instructions for the embassy, consulate or USCIS office handling the case. They should answer requests for additional evidence without delay.
Required civil documents, police certificates and other supporting evidence should be ready as early as possible. Applicants with scheduled interviews should attend and follow every instruction from the post handling their case.
The Department of State publishes Diversity Visa program instructions, while USCIS posts newsroom alerts and policy memoranda. Selectees can also use the selection results portal.
A favorable cutoff number remains only one part of the process. The applicant must still qualify, provide the required evidence, clear processing and receive the visa or adjustment approval before the deadline.
The program’s registration system will also change for the next cycle. Starting with DV-2027, the government implemented a new $1 non-refundable electronic registration fee.
Applicants in August and September face the final weeks of fiscal year 2026. The legal authority ends at the close of September 30, and available visa numbers may disappear sooner.
