Nigerians are no longer eligible to participate in the annual Diversity Visa Lottery Programme of the United States, at least for another one year.
According to the U.S. Department of State, Nigeria was one of the countries barred from participating in the upcoming DV-2015 because more than 50,000 of their citizens immigrated to the United States in the previous five years.
“For DV-2015, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply, because more than 50,000 natives of these countries immigrated to the United States in the previous five years: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam,” the Department wrote in a statement.
However, it added that since entries are based on country of birth, Nigerians born in eligible countries can still apply.
Notwithstanding Nigeria’s elimination for next year, several other African countries remain eligible.
The department also released a list of African countries eligible for the DV-2015. These are Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Djibouti, Egypt*, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, and Ghana.
Others are Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles and Sierra Leone.
Entries for the DV-2015 open on 1st October 2013 and close on 2nd November 2013.
