A federal appeals court has intervened to block a lower court’s order for the U.S. State Department to reopen registration for the Diversity Immigrant Visa program, often referred to as the green card lottery. As a result, the lottery’s usual registration process will not commence as initially scheduled while the government’s appeal is underway.
Established by legislation in 1990, the Diversity Visa program allocates 55,000 immigrant visas annually to individuals from countries with low immigration rates to the U.S. The selection is purely random, with about 100,000 applicants chosen from millions who enter, assuming they meet necessary eligibility criteria.
Once selected, successful candidates can petition for permanent residency in the United States.
For the fiscal year 2027, the State Department delayed opening registration past the customary schedule, impacting the lottery’s execution even after the new fiscal year began on October 1, 2026. The State Department had previously paused certain diversity-visa functions following a troubling incident in December 2025 involving a lottery winner connected to violent crimes, which raised concerns.
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Another *huge* immigration win for President Trump and Secretary Rubio. Must they, now, open the diversity visa lottery program? The program gives visas to people for being from countries without many people that qualify for merit based visas. No, per the Ninth Circuit. Stayed! pic.twitter.com/u9wANV8VZu
— Eric W. (@EWess92) October 30, 2026
This past August, an immigration law firm representing diversity-visa winners filed a lawsuit in federal district court in San Diego. Following this, on October 14, U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta issued a preliminary injunction, mandating that the State Department announce registration details by October 29, with a 30-day registration period opening by November 1.
Judge Ohta, appointed by President Biden and originally from Seoul, South Korea, ruled that the federal government could not prevent random foreign individuals from entering the U.S., asserting that the law firm had a valid legal interest in the case.
In response, the federal government appealed and requested a stay, which was granted by a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel, including judges appointed by Presidents Clinton, Biden, and George W. Bush, ruled unanimously that the law firm did not have standing to challenge the cancellation, stating that the program was intended to benefit immigration, not boost law firm revenue.
While the court did not support the State Department’s decision to cancel the program, it noted that the firm lacked current clients for a lottery that had not taken place, limiting its ability to contest the cancellation.
The stay is provisional, maintaining the present circumstances while the full appeal process unfolds. The law firm has suggested it may initiate new legal action involving an actual prospective applicant to rectify the standing issue highlighted by the Ninth Circuit. Additionally, some congressional members are pushing for legislation to terminate the Diversity Visa program altogether.
