File:DV eligible countries.png

Summary

Regions and eligible countries for the 2016 United States Diversity Visa lottery. Created from Wikimedia Commons' blank world map.

• Dark gray: United States and its territories
• Light gray: Other territories that do not belong to any eligible region
• Light green: North America, eligible
• Dark green: North America, ineligible
• Light red: Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, eligible
• Dark Red: Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, ineligible
• Light blue: Europe, eligible
• Dark blue: Europe, ineligible
• Yellow: Africa, eligible
• Olive: Africa, ineligible
• Orange: Asia, eligible
• Brown: Asia, ineligible
• Pink: Oceania, all eligible

Regions are as defined for the allocation of visas in the lottery.^[1][2]

Although Mexico is geographically located in North America, it is grouped with Central and South America and the Caribbean, according to immigrant visa law.^[3]

All countries which used to be part of Soviet Union are considered to be in Europe. However, even though Southern Sakhalin and the southern four Kuril Islands are de facto part of Russia, they are still considered to be de jure in Japan, and thus Asia, under immigrant visa regulations, because they used to belong to Japan before Japan abandoned those territories under the San Francisco peace treaty. The Soviet Union did not sign the treaty and effectively also have no right for them under international law.^[4]

Western Sahara is a disputed territory (a former dependent territory of Spain, currently administered by Morocco) and does not belong to any region. In the past it was eligible to participate in the lottery under Europe as a dependent territory of Spain, and later as a country under Africa,^[5] and it even had several winners throughout the years. However, it has never received any visa under the DV lottery program.^[4][6]

Even though the Gaza Strip is geographically located in Asia, it is still considered to be part of Egypt, and thus Africa, under immigrant visa regulations, because Gaza used to be part of Egypt in June 1967, and the US recognizes Israel, Syria, Egypt and Jordan in geographical borders of June 1967.^[4]

Although Macau is geographically located in Asia, it is still considered a dependent territory of Portugal, and thus Europe, under immigrant visa regulations, even though it is part of China for all other purposes.^[4]

Licensing

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

References

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.