US District Judge Jinsook Ohta of the Southern District of California issued a preliminary injunction on October 14 in a lawsuit brought by Red Eagle Law, an immigration law firm that challenged the department’s failure to open registration.
The original court order required the State Department to announce the registration period by midnight Eastern time on October 15 and open registration by October 18. The entry period was to remain open for 30 days, with selected applicants to be notified by November 19.
However, the parties subsequently agreed to seek an extension, and the court granted their joint request. Under the revised schedule reported by the plaintiffs’ counsel, the department must announce the registration period by October 29, open registration by November 1 and notify selected applicants by December 3.
The department must accept eligible electronic entries and process selected applicants’ visa applications under its usual procedures until the fiscal year 2027 allocation is exhausted or September 30, 2027, whichever comes first.
The Diversity Visa program makes up to 55,000 immigrant visas available annually to eligible applicants from countries with historically low levels of immigration to the United States. The program was established by Congress under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The State Department said in a November 2025 notice that it was making changes to the DV-2027 entry process and would announce the registration dates as soon as practicable. It did not subsequently open registration on the usual schedule, leaving prospective applicants uncertain about whether they would be able to enter the lottery.
The government argued in court that the delay had made it too late to conduct the program within the applicable statutory timetable. Red Eagle Law challenged the department’s inaction, arguing that the failure to open registration threatened to effectively cancel the 2027 lottery.
The court’s ruling requires the department to proceed with the program despite the delay. It does not guarantee that every selected applicant will receive a visa: applicants must still meet the program’s eligibility requirements and complete the usual application and screening procedures.
