DV 2026: January Cut-Off Numbers Published!

News

The Visa Bulletin for December 2025 has been published, revealing the cut-off numbers that will apply in January 2026. The cut-off numbers in question are partly the same as those published last month – for December.

The regions and exception country that had their cut-off numbers increased are the Africa region, the Asia region, the Europe region and Algeria. And those that had their cut-off numbers maintained are the North and South America regions, the Oceania region, Egypt and Nepal.

January Cut-Offs

Below are the cut-off numbers in question, those that will apply in the DV 2026 Program during the month of January 2026:

What it means

The January 2026 cut-off numbers – as established – means that case numbers that are eligible for January interviews are as follows:

AFRICA: Case Numbers up to and including 34,999;

For the Africa region’s exception countries: ALGERIA: Case Numbers up to 19,999; EGYPT (maintained): Case Numbers up to 15,999

ASIA: Case Numbers up to 14,999;

For the Asia region’s only exception country NEPAL (maintained), case numbers eligible for January interviews are case numbers up to 5,999;

EUROPE: Case Numbers up to 8,499;

NORTH AMERICA (maintained): Case Numbers 1 to 19;

OCEANIA (maintained): Case Numbers up to 1,099;

SOUTH AMERICA (maintained): Case Numbers up to 1,849.

Important: A case number being eligible for interview for a given month does not mean that the case concerned will be interviewed during the month in question at all cost. It may well be; it may also not be. In addition to the case number being eligible for interview, other factors contribute to determining when the case concerned will actually be interviewed.

Cases Not Yet Eligible

Cases whose case numbers are the same or higher than their region or country cut-off shown above are not eligible for January interviews. Applicants concerned should consider their cut-off number when the next visa Bulletin is published (anytime from December 7th to 15th) to ascertain their status. The cut-offs to be revealed in that Visa Bulletin will concern FEBRUARY 2026, the fifth month of  interviews in the DV 2026 Program.

REMINDER

The Visa Bulletin is published every month. It is by means of said publication that Diversity Visa applicants get to know the month when their case will be eligible for interview. For a better understanding of what the Visa Bulletin is and how it works, kindly refer to this article.