About The Special Program for Cuban Migration Lottery - Because the total number of persons qualifying for immigrant visas and refugee status does not normally reach the 20,000 the U.S. has agreed to authorize each year pursuant to the joint U.S.-Cuban Migration Accords of 1994, the U.S. has adopted a lottery system by which persons who do not qualify as refugees or immigrants can seek to enter the U.S. This system is unique to Cuba and separate from the worldwide diversity visa lottery for which Cubans are also eligible.