A US federal court has ordered the Trump administration to reopen registration for the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery for fiscal year 2027, ending a prolonged suspension of the popular green card programme.
On 14 October 2026, US District Judge Jinsook Ohta of the Southern District of California issued a preliminary injunction requiring the State Department, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to launch the delayed DV-2027 registration process. Under a revised timetable agreed by both parties, the department must announce the registration details by 29 October and open the electronic entry period by 1 November 2026. The registration window is expected to remain open for 30 days.
Background to the suspension
The Diversity Visa programme, commonly known as the green card lottery, allocates up to 55,000 immigrant visas each year to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Registration normally opens in early autumn for the following fiscal year.
In late 2025, the State Department postponed the usual opening of DV-2027 registration while it reviewed screening and vetting procedures. The pause followed security concerns linked to an individual who had entered the United States through an earlier diversity visa. As a result, no registration period was announced for months, leaving millions of potential applicants worldwide in limbo.
A California immigration firm, Red Eagle Law, challenged the delay in court, arguing that the failure to open the lottery violated federal law and amounted to an unlawful suspension of a statutory programme.
What next?
Once registration opens, eligible applicants will be able to submit entries online through the official State Department website. Selected entrants will later be notified and must still meet all normal immigration requirements, including medical examinations, background checks and interviews, before a green card can be issued.
The DV-2027 visa year runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027. Because registration is opening later than usual, the timeline for selection, document preparation and visa processing will be tighter than in previous years.
Implications for applicants
For many people, particularly in Africa, Asia and other regions with limited immigration pathways to the United States, the diversity lottery remains one of the few accessible routes to permanent residency. The court order restores the opportunity to enter the programme after nearly a year of uncertainty.
Applicants are advised to wait for the official State Department announcement confirming exact dates, eligibility rules and the entry website before submitting any application. Entries submitted outside the official period or through unofficial channels will not be accepted.
The ruling marks a significant legal setback for the administration’s efforts to restrict the diversity visa programme, which President Trump has long criticised. Processing of selected applicants is required to continue until the available visas are exhausted or the fiscal year ends in September 2027.
As the registration window approaches, prospective entrants are urged to prepare necessary documents and monitor official updates from the US Department of State.
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