According to the most recent visa bulletin from the United States Department of State, a total of 2,348 Cuban citizens were selected in the 2025 Diversity Visa Lottery, consolidating Cuba as the Latin American country with the most winners in this draw, surpassing nations such as Ecuador and Peru.
The Cubans who won the visa will have a period from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025 to enter the United States and complete the corresponding immigration procedures, which will allow them to apply for permanent residence for themselves and their close relatives.
This year, Cuba led the draw among 22 countries in the Western Hemisphere, followed by Ecuador with 795 winners and Peru with 657.
This result reflects a similar trend to that of the previous year, when the island also ranked first with 3,081 applicants. Although to date less than half of them have managed to obtain a visa, according to journalist Daniel Benítez.
The results of the 2025 Visa Lottery were released in May, allowing participants to check their status through the program’s official website. However, it was not until now that the exact figures by nationality were released.
Those who have been selected have already begun receiving notifications and must proceed quickly to apply for their visa, a process that includes interviews at the U.S. Embassy in Havana.
Cubans and the Visa Lottery
Over the past decade, the Visa Lottery has become a crucial avenue for thousands of Cubans seeking to legally emigrate to the United States.
More than 14,000 Cubans have obtained visas through this program in the last ten years, offering a safe and legal alternative to the growing immigration restrictions and economic crisis on the island.
However, Cuba’s future eligibility for this program is in doubt. High rates of Cuban migration to the United States, coupled with the implementation of humanitarian parole, could result in the island’s exclusion from the lottery, as occurred with Venezuela in 2022.
Will they continue to grant aid to Cuba?
For a country to be eligible for the Diversity Visa Program, it must have a low rate of immigration to the United States. That is, fewer than 50,000 immigrants in the past five years. Eligibility is reviewed annually and can change based on immigration levels.
The program’s purpose is to promote geographic diversity by awarding the majority of visas to regions with historically low immigration to the United States. In addition, applicants must meet certain educational or work experience requirements. The list of eligible countries is published each year by the U.S. Department of State—and the criteria are designed to ensure that immigration is as diverse as possible.
Although the registration period for the 2026 Visa Lottery has not yet been officially announced, it is expected to be between October and November. The Cuban community remains attentive to the possibility that the Island continues to be eligible, in a context of increasing migration to the United States.
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