The U.S. State Department’s November visa bulletin, released on 26 October 2025, confirms that India remains ineligible for the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV-2026) programme—commonly known as the Green Card lottery. The list of qualifying Asian countries includes Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal and 17 others, but excludes high-admission nations such as India, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The lottery allocates up to 55,000 immigrant visas annually to applicants from countries with historically low rates of migration to the United States. India’s continuing omission is rooted in immigration statistics: more than 65,000 Indians obtain U.S. lawful permanent residency each year through family or employment channels, far above the programme’s threshold.
For Indian mobility managers, the bulletin serves as a timely reminder that alternative pathways—H-1B, L-1, EB-2/EB-3 and the fast-growing EB-5 investor route—remain the primary channels for U.S. assignments. The decision also keeps pressure on U.S. legislators debating per-country caps that disproportionately lengthen green-card queues for Indians, currently extending well beyond a decade for some categories.
Immigration attorneys advise Indian nationals to watch upcoming H-1B modernisation rules and to prepare for a potentially higher prevailing-wage regime in FY 2027. Firms sending talent stateside are urged to diversify destination strategies, including Canada’s Global Talent Stream and the U.K.’s Skilled Worker route, to mitigate U.S. quota risk.
From a policy standpoint, India’s exclusion underscores broader questions about how diversity-oriented programmes intersect with global talent flows dominated by large emerging economies.
The lottery allocates up to 55,000 immigrant visas annually to applicants from countries with historically low rates of migration to the United States. India’s continuing omission is rooted in immigration statistics: more than 65,000 Indians obtain U.S. lawful permanent residency each year through family or employment channels, far above the programme’s threshold.
For Indian mobility managers, the bulletin serves as a timely reminder that alternative pathways—H-1B, L-1, EB-2/EB-3 and the fast-growing EB-5 investor route—remain the primary channels for U.S. assignments. The decision also keeps pressure on U.S. legislators debating per-country caps that disproportionately lengthen green-card queues for Indians, currently extending well beyond a decade for some categories.
Immigration attorneys advise Indian nationals to watch upcoming H-1B modernisation rules and to prepare for a potentially higher prevailing-wage regime in FY 2027. Firms sending talent stateside are urged to diversify destination strategies, including Canada’s Global Talent Stream and the U.K.’s Skilled Worker route, to mitigate U.S. quota risk.
From a policy standpoint, India’s exclusion underscores broader questions about how diversity-oriented programmes intersect with global talent flows dominated by large emerging economies.
