US Green Card Lottery: List of 15 West African Countries Selected for 2026 Diversity Visa Programme
- The US government has published the official list of DV-2026 Green Card Lottery selectees, with 15 West African nations represented among those registered
- Ghana recorded 1,642 prospective applicants, while Togo led the West African region with 2,473 registered selectees, including accompanying family members
- The Kentucky Consular Centre confirmed roughly 129,516 prospective applicants were registered, though all visas must be secured before September 30, 2026
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The United States government has officially published the list of countries whose citizens were selected as part of the 2026 Diversity Visa programme, with 15 West African nations featured among the registered selectees.
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The Kentucky Consular Centre in Williamsburg, Kentucky, confirmed that approximately 129,516 prospective applicants, covering selectees alongside their accompanying spouses and children, have been registered and are now able to verify their selection status. The figure deliberately exceeds the number of available visa slots to compensate for applicants who withdraw or are deemed ineligible during the processing stage.
West African nations on the DV-2026 list
The lottery drew 20,822,624 qualified entries submitted over a 37-day registration window that ran from 2 October to 7 November 2024.
Under the programme, up to 55,000 permanent resident visas are ordinarily available each fiscal year to nationals of countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States.
However, the actual DV-2026 allocation has been reduced to around 51,850 due to provisions under the NACARA legislation and the National Defence Authorisation Act for FY2024.
The following West African countries had citizens registered as selectees, with each figure representing total prospective applicants, including family members:
- Benin — 1,064
- Burkina Faso — 252
- Cabo Verde — 35
- Côte d'Ivoire — 926
- The Gambia — 198
- Ghana — 1,642
- Guinea — 1,051
- Guinea-Bissau — 10
- Liberia — 1,593
- Mali — 268
- Mauritania — 261
- Niger — 109
- Senegal — 478
- Sierra Leone — 639
- Togo — 2,473
What selected applicants must do next
To qualify for an immigrant visa, principal applicants must demonstrate they hold at least a high school education or its equivalent, or two years of qualifying work experience within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or apprenticeship.
Applicants already residing legally inside the United States may apply to adjust their immigration status through US Citizenship and Immigration Services, rather than processing their application at an overseas consulate.
All selectees are urged to act promptly. Any applicant who fails to secure a visa or complete a status adjustment before 30 September 2026 will forfeit all benefits linked to their DV-2026 registration, with no extensions permitted under any circumstances. The same deadline applies to spouses and children seeking to accompany or join a principal applicant.
Those interested in applying for the DV-2027 programme are advised to monitor the US Department of State's Diversity Visa web page for announcements regarding the upcoming registration period.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
