U.S. Court Orders State Department to Resume Green Card Lottery by November

A federal court in California's Southern District has ordered the U.S. State Department to resume the Diversity Visa lottery for 2027, following a lawsuit by immigration law firm Red Eagle Law against Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Judge Jinsuk Ota issued the ruling on October 14, 2026, requiring the State Department to announce registration dates by October 15, open registration by November 1, 2026, and announce selected applicants by December 3, 2026. The court initially set earlier deadlines for October 18 registration and November 19 results announcement, but both parties jointly requested a two-week extension, which the judge approved.

The Diversity Visa program distributes up to 55,000 green cards annually to eligible applicants from countries with relatively low immigration rates to the United States. Registration for DV-2027 was scheduled for autumn 2025 but never opened. On November 5, 2025, the State Department announced it was changing the program's procedures and would announce new dates later, but those dates were never provided. The Trump administration has opposed the lottery; Red Eagle Law filed suit in August 2026 demanding the government conduct the drawing.

The court's order does not guarantee the program's immediate resumption, as the Trump administration retains the right to appeal. However, filing an appeal does not suspend the obligation to comply with the court order. As of mid-October 2026, no appeal had been filed. The ruling requires the State Department to accept electronic applications for 30 days starting November 1, notify selected applicants by December 3, and process visa applications through September 30, 2027, or until the annual quota is exhausted.

The lottery suspension followed a shooting at Brown University in late 2025 in which two people died, including an Uzbek student. The shooter, Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, had entered the United States in 2017 through the Diversity Visa lottery and later obtained permanent resident status. This incident prompted the Trump administration to halt the program. The court has retained authority to monitor compliance and modify conditions if necessary.