The DV-2027 lottery will remain on hold after the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on October 29 granted the Trump administration an emergency stay, suspending a California judge’s order to reopen registration while an appeal proceeds.
The DV-2027 lottery decision gives the administration immediate relief from a court-ordered timetable. It does not finally resolve whether the State Department acted lawfully by failing to launch the fiscal year 2027 Diversity Visa Program.
Why the DV-2027 lottery order was paused
In its published emergency order, the appeals panel focused on whether Red Eagle Law, the immigration firm bringing the lawsuit, could pursue this claim under the program’s governing statute.
The firm brought the case in its own name, without joining prospective lottery entrants as plaintiffs.
The judges concluded that the firm’s interest in earning fees from future clients was insufficiently connected to the interests Congress intended the program to protect. The panel expressly declined to endorse the department’s failure to open registration.
Judge N. Randy Smith separately argued that the firm also lacked constitutional standing, meaning the required personal stake in the dispute. His concurrence warned that accepting hypothetical losses involving future clients could allow an excessively broad range of lawsuits.
What the lower court had ordered
U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta granted preliminary relief on October 14 in the Southern District of California. Her written explanation, filed October 19, described how the department’s failure to hold a lottery prevented prospective applicants from accessing the annual program.
The district court record identifies Red Eagle as a law firm whose practice includes helping diversity visa selectees. Its lawsuit challenged the government’s inaction under the Administrative Procedure Act, alleging that officials unlawfully withheld required agency action.
According to immigration law firm Fragomen’s October 30 update, the injunction required a public announcement by October 29, registration opening by November 1 for 30 days, and notification of selected entrants by December 3.
It also required timely processing of submitted applications under the department’s usual procedures. The government appealed, seeking to suspend those obligations before the registration deadline arrived.
How the delay developed
The State Department announced on November 5, 2025, that it was changing the entry process and would announce registration and selection-result dates later. Its notice said the application period for selected individuals would remain October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027.
The district court noted that registration in earlier years generally opened in early October for visas available during the following fiscal year. That usual preliminary step had not occurred for the 2027 program.
Those dates concerned the fiscal-year visa application window; the notice did not announce an opening date for lottery registration.
Fragomen reported that the department paused the program in December 2025 and that Red Eagle sued in August 2026. Its October 30 assessment said the DV-2027 lottery remained inactive following the appellate stay.
What the program offers
Congress established the Diversity Visa Program in the Immigration Act of 1990 to expand immigration from countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States. The statutory framework provides for up to 55,000 diversity visas annually, subject to applicable adjustments.
The district court’s explanation describes a two-stage process: people first register for a random selection process, and selected entrants then have an opportunity to apply for immigrant visas. Selection alone does not guarantee approval.
Applicants must meet the relevant requirements and complete processing. The distinction matters because reopening registration would begin the selection process; it would not automatically grant permanent residence to everyone who entered.
Further litigation is expected
Jago News 24, reporting comments made to Newsweek, quoted Red Eagle owner Curtis Morrison as saying the firm would move quickly with other litigation challenging the department’s failure to run the program.
That report said the firm was seeking a potential plaintiff living in the United States on a nonimmigrant visa. The reported plan is separate from a confirmed new filing, and it does not establish that any future lawsuit would succeed.
Meanwhile, the existing appeal continues. The Ninth Circuit directed its clerk to issue a briefing schedule for review of the preliminary injunction.
