⚡ Key Takeaways
- Pakistan is currently excluded from the US Diversity Visa (Green Card) lottery — entering is not possible this program year.
- The exclusion list is based on immigration volume to the US over the preceding five years, not on anything an individual applicant did.
- Anyone charging a fee to "register" or "guarantee" you for the DV lottery without mentioning this exclusion is either misinformed or running a scam.
- Family-based immigration, employment-based categories, and the EB-5 investor visa remain fully open to applicants born in Pakistan, with no country-of-birth restriction.
Why Pakistan Is Excluded From the DV Lottery
A lot of people ask us about the US "Green Card lottery" — officially the Diversity Visa (DV) program — and the honest answer is that Pakistan is currently on the list of countries excluded from it. This is genuinely confusing, because the program is widely talked about online with little mention of who is actually eligible, which makes it one of the most common sources of misinformation we see from prospective applicants.
The Diversity Visa program is only open to people born in countries that have sent relatively few immigrants to the United States over the preceding five years. Countries that have sent a high number are excluded for that program year — and that list currently includes Pakistan, alongside countries such as India, Bangladesh, China, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Mexico, among several others.
Watch Out for DV Lottery Scams
Entering the Diversity Visa program is free, done directly through the official US government process. That makes one thing very clear: anyone contacting you to "register" or "guarantee" your entry into the DV lottery for a fee — especially if they never mention Pakistan's current exclusion — is either misinformed about the program or deliberately running a scam.
- No legitimate service can make an excluded country eligible. If someone claims they can get you into the lottery despite the exclusion, that claim alone is a red flag.
- The real application is free. Any fee is for help filling out a free government form at most — never for "entry" or a "guaranteed" outcome.
- Be wary of unsolicited "you've been selected" messages. The DV lottery does not work that way, and these are a common phishing tactic.
The Real Pathways That Are Actually Open to You
The good news is that DV lottery exclusion does not affect any other US immigration category — these are separate programs with their own eligibility rules, unrelated to country-of-birth quotas.
- Family-based immigration — if you have a spouse, parent, sibling, or child who is a US citizen or permanent resident, this is often the most direct route to a Green Card, regardless of your country of birth.
- Employment-based immigration (EB-1 / EB-2 / EB-3) — sponsored by a US employer, or in some cases self-petitioned for extraordinary ability, available to applicants from any country, Pakistan included.
- EB-5 Investor Visa — permanent residency through a qualifying investment in a US commercial enterprise, with no country-of-birth restriction.
- Non-immigrant pathways that can lead toward longer-term options — H-1B work visas, F-1 study (which some students later transition from into employment-based sponsorship), and others.
See our full USA Visa Services overview for the complete picture of categories open to Pakistani applicants.
What We Help With
An honest assessment of which of these pathways actually fits your situation — because the DV lottery not being an option doesn't mean your options are limited, it just means starting from an accurate picture of what is actually available to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Pakistani citizens enter the US Green Card lottery at all?
Not under the current program year's rules. Pakistan is on the list of countries excluded because of the volume of immigration to the US over the preceding five years. This list is reassessed each year, but Pakistan has been excluded in recent cycles.
Is there any legitimate way to pay for DV lottery eligibility?
No. There is no legitimate way to pay your way into DV lottery eligibility when your country is on the excluded list. Any offer to do so — "guaranteed entry," "special registration," or similar — is a scam.
If the DV lottery isn't an option, what should I look at instead?
Family-based immigration, employment-based categories (EB-1/EB-2/EB-3), the EB-5 investor visa, and non-immigrant routes like H-1B or F-1 that can lead to longer-term options later. None of these are affected by the DV lottery exclusion.