Indians won't be eligible for the US Green Card Lottery, also known as the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery, at least until 2028 due to high immigration numbers from India to the United States. The DV lottery is designed to diversify the immigrant population by giving preference to individuals from countries with low immigration rates to the US over the past five years. However, eligibility is restricted to countries that have sent fewer than 50,000 immigrants to the US during that period.

India has consistently exceeded this threshold, with over 93,000 Indians immigrating to the US in 2021, a record 127,000 in 2022, and 78,000 in 2023. This volume of immigration surpasses that of entire continents like South America, Africa, and Europe, automatically disqualifying India from the lottery program through at least 2028. Other countries excluded from the 2026 lottery include China, South Korea, Canada, and Pakistan.

With the Green Card Lottery no longer an option, Indian nationals looking for permanent US residency must seek alternative pathways. These largely include employment-based visas such as converting the H-1B work visa into a green card, family sponsorship, investment-based immigration, or asylum routes. However, these alternatives face several challenges such as long backlogs, strict scrutiny, and policy hurdles, especially under the immigration policies enforced during President Donald Trump's administration.

Tighter controls on visa issuance now include increased background checks, social media vetting, and national security screenings, making the permanent residency route more uncertain and competitive for Indian applicants. For instance, employment-based visa queues for Indians face significant delays, with some categories retrogressed by more than a decade, while asylum claims also have extensive wait times.