On October 29, 2026, the Ninth Circuit put on hold a lower court order that would have required the State Department (“DOS”) to open registration for the FY2027 Diversity Visa (“DV”) lottery by November 1 (Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Rubio, No. 26-6943). The court found that the law firm that brought the case is not likely the right party to challenge the program's suspension. As a result, DV-2027 registration will not open on November 1, and the DV program stays on hold while the appeal continues.
The court did not decide whether the suspension itself is lawful, and we expect prospective DV applicants to bring their own challenges.
Background
December 2025: After a DV recipient was identified as the suspect in shootings in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) put DV green card applications on hold and DOS stopped issuing DV visas. DOS also never opened DV-2027 registration.
August 2026: Federal courts in D.C. and California found the pauses unlawful, and DOS resumed DV-2026 processing on August 28 (Ivanov v. Trump; Medani v. Trump).
September 30, 2026: DV-2026 ended. The Medani court gave DOS 10 extra days to process cases refused under the pause, but would not hold over the roughly 40,000 unused visas.
October 2026: A federal judge in San Diego ordered DOS to open DV-2027 registration by November 1. The Ninth Circuit put that order on hold on October 29.
What This Means for Employers
There is no DV-2027 lottery for now. Applicants should not rely on it as a route to a green card, and any site claiming to take DV-2027 entries should be treated with suspicion.
DV-2026 has closed for most selectees. Applicants who did not receive an immigrant visa or green card by the deadline have likely lost eligibility and may need another option, such as employer sponsorship.
Check on pending DV-2026 cases. Applicants still waiting on USCIS should confirm where their case stands.
We will continue to monitor the situation and will send updates as things develop. Please reach out with any questions about a specific employee or case.