DV Lottery Visa Bulletin and Current Cut-Off Numbers: From the Beginning to Today
The DV Visa Bulletin is the U.S. Department of State’s monthly ranking system for Green Card Lottery selectees. It determines whether a winner’s case number is low enough to receive an interview and, ultimately, a Diversity Visa during that program year.[travel.state][travel.state][travel.state]
What “Current” Means in the DV Bulletin
Each DV selectee receives a regional rank number, such as AF00012XXX for Africa or AS00045XXX for Asia. The monthly Visa Bulletin publishes a cut-off number for each region; selectees with rank numbers below the published cut-off can proceed with visa processing.[travel.state][travel.state][travel.state]
When a region is listed as “Current,” all qualified selectees from that region may proceed, regardless of case number. A cut-off number means that selectees at or above that number must wait for a later bulletin—or may never become current if the fiscal year ends first.[travel.state][travel.state][travel.state]
How the DV Bulletin Works
| Bulletin Term | Meaning for a DV winner |
|---|---|
| Case number | The selectee’s rank within their geographic region, assigned after selection. [travel.state][travel.state] |
| Cut-off number | The highest rank number eligible for processing in that month. [travel.state][travel.state] |
| Current | Every qualified selectee in that region may proceed. [travel.state][travel.state] |
| Country exception | A separate, usually lower cut-off for a country with very high demand, such as Egypt, Iran, Nepal, Russia, or Uzbekistan. [travel.state][travel.state][travel.state] |
| Fiscal-year deadline | DV eligibility ends on September 30 of the program year; unused numbers do not carry over. [travel.state][travel.state][travel.state] |
DV Cut-Offs From the Beginning
The Department of State has published DV regional cut-offs in every monthly Visa Bulletin since the modern program began. The table below shows the final September cut-off—the last opportunity for a selectee to become eligible—where official bulletins are available.[travel.state][travel.state][travel.state][travel.state]
| DV Program | Visa Year | Final September Cut-Offs / Status | Key Country Exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| DV-2000 to DV-2009 | FY2000–FY2009 | Published monthly in archived Visa Bulletins; annual DV limit was generally 50,000 after the NACARA reduction. | Country-specific limits applied in high-demand countries. |
| DV-2010 | FY2010 | June 2010 example: Africa 45,600; Asia 19,550; Europe 31,000; Oceania 1,175; South America/Caribbean 1,300. [travel.state] | Annual limit reduced to 50,000. [travel.state] |
| DV-2011 | FY2011 | Annual limit reduced to 50,000; monthly cut-offs published in the 2011 bulletins. | Country exceptions applied. |
| DV-2012 | FY2012 | Final cut-offs published in the September 2011 bulletin; 100,021 selectees were registered. | Country exceptions applied. |
| DV-2013 | FY2013 | Monthly cut-offs published in FY2013 bulletins. [travel.state] | Country exceptions applied. [travel.state] |
| DV-2014 | FY2014 | Monthly cut-offs published in FY2014 bulletins; 140,660 selectees registered. [travel.state] | Country exceptions applied. [travel.state] |
| DV-2015 | FY2015 | Africa 50,000; Asia 7,650; Europe 43,050; North America 8; Oceania 1,490; South America/Caribbean 1,350. [travel.state][travel.state] | Nepal: 7,150. [travel.state] |
| DV-2016 | FY2016 | Monthly cut-offs published in FY2016 bulletins; annual limit reduced to 50,000. | Country exceptions applied. |
| DV-2017 | FY2017 | Monthly cut-offs published in FY2017 bulletins. [aila][travel.state] | Country exceptions applied. [travel.state] |
| DV-2018 | FY2018 | Africa 39,500; Asia Current; Europe 25,775; North America Current; Oceania 1,450; South America/Caribbean 1,715. [travel.state] | Annual limit reduced to 50,000. [travel.state] |
| DV-2019 | FY2019 | Monthly cut-offs published in FY2019 bulletins. [travel.state] | Country exceptions applied. [travel.state] |
| DV-2020 | FY2020 | All regions Current by September 2020. [travel.state] | Earlier months used cut-offs, including Iran and Nepal. [travel.state] |
| DV-2021 | FY2021 | Most regions became Current by June 2021; annual limit approximately 54,850. [travel.state][travel.state] | Egypt, Iran, and Nepal had separate limits. [travel.state][travel.state] |
| DV-2022 | FY2022 | Monthly cut-offs published in FY2022 bulletins. [travel.state] | Country exceptions applied. [travel.state] |
| DV-2023 | FY2023 | August 2023: Africa 63,500; Asia 21,000; Europe 32,000; North America Current; Oceania 1,650; South America/Caribbean 2,900. [travel.state] | Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Iran, Nepal, Russia, and Uzbekistan had separate limits. [travel.state] |
| DV-2024 | FY2024 | Monthly cut-offs published in FY2024 bulletins. [travel.state] | Country exceptions applied. [travel.state] |
| DV-2025 | FY2025 | Africa 58,500; Asia 14,500; Europe 23,000; North America Current; Oceania 1,775; South America/Caribbean 2,825. [travel.state][travel.state] | Algeria 54,500; Egypt 52,000; Morocco 40,500; Iran 11,000; Nepal 14,450; Russia 22,950; Uzbekistan 15,000. [travel.state] |
| DV-2026 | FY2026 | Program ended September 30, 2026; final cut-offs were published in the September 2026 bulletin. [aila][visaverge] | Country exceptions applied during the year. [aila] |
| DV-2027 | FY2027 | No DV-2027 selectees or DV cut-offs were published because registration for DV-2027 did not open. [visaverge] | Not applicable. [visaverge] |
Why Cut-Offs Rise During the Year
The Department of State moves the DV cut-off forward gradually to control the flow of cases and avoid exhausting the annual visa supply too early. For example, DV-2025’s Africa cut-off rose from 35,000 to 42,500, then 45,000, 50,000, and finally 58,500 by September 2025.[dvlotteryusa]
A higher cut-off does not mean that every selectee below it will receive a Green Card. It means those selectees become eligible to continue processing, subject to document submission, interview scheduling, eligibility, and visa availability.[travel.state][travel.state][travel.state]
Why Some Countries Have Separate Limits
Countries such as Egypt, Iran, Nepal, Russia, and Uzbekistan often receive separate, lower cut-offs because they have unusually high numbers of selectees or high visa demand. This prevents one country from consuming too large a share of the regional visa allocation.[travel.state][travel.state][travel.state]
The DV program also imposes a statutory country ceiling: no country may receive more than 7 percent of the available Diversity Visas in a program year.
What Happens at Year-End
The DV year always ends on September 30. Any selectee whose case number remains above the final published cut-off, or who has not completed processing by that date, loses eligibility for that program year.[travel.state][travel.state][travel.state]
There is no carryover of unused DV numbers into the next fiscal year. When a new DV program year begins on October 1, a new set of selectees and a new sequence of monthly cut-offs begins.[travel.state][visaverge]
Practical Advice for Selectees
- Check your case number, not just your selection status; the case number determines whether the bulletin permits you to proceed.[travel.state][travel.state]
- Read the DV section of every monthly Visa Bulletin from October through September of your program year.[travel.state][travel.state]
- Pay special attention to your country exception if you are chargeable to Egypt, Iran, Nepal, Russia, Uzbekistan, Algeria, or Morocco.[travel.state][travel.state][travel.state]
- Submit documents and complete processing as early as possible, because a current case number does not guarantee an interview or visa before September 30.[travel.state][travel.state][travel.state]
Official Source for Every Month
The authoritative record is the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Bulletin archive, which contains every monthly bulletin and its DV regional cut-offs. For any published article, link each DV program year to the relevant official bulletin rather than relying on third-party summaries.[travel.state][travel.state]