The State Department notified that Cubans selected by mistake are not eligible for the DV-2026 program, since Cuba was excluded for exceeding the immigration limit.
MADRID, Spain.- The United States Department of State advertisement in recent days that a small number of people born in Cuba were selected by mistake in the Diversity Visa Program 2026 (DV-2026), popularly known as “el bombo”. The agency corrected the failure and notified those affected that they will not be able to continue with the process, since Cubans are not eligible for this edition of the program.
As explained by the institution in an official statement, “under US law, and as established in the instructions of DV-2026, natives of Cuba are not eligible to participate in the 2026 program, because more than 50,000 Cubans emigrated to the United States in the last five years.”
For this reason, those who selected Cuba as a cargo country were declared ineligible, even if the verification platform initially showed a positive result.
In addition to Cuba, the State Department reported that errors were also detected in a small number of cases corresponding to Great Britain (United Kingdom) and its dependent territories. These applicants are advised to double check their status using the unique confirmation number obtained during online registration.
The institution recalled that eligibility to apply for a diversity visa extends until the end of the fiscal year (September 30), although visas may be exhausted sooner if the quotas established by Congress are filled.
The draw Diversity visas are one of the most anticipated legal routes for many migrants to immigrate to the United States. The exclusion of Cuba leaves out thousands of people who try to participate in this program every year.
Cuba had already been officially excluded from DV-2026 since September 2024, but the technical error generated confusion among applicants. The United States maintains other specific immigration routes for Cuban citizens, although these do not include the visa lottery.
