WASHINGTON — A US appeals court has blocked a lower court order that would have forced the State Department to reopen the 2027 Diversity Visa Lottery, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery.
On 29 October, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency request by the government to pause a preliminary injunction issued earlier by a federal district judge in California. The injunction had directed the State Department to announce registration dates and begin accepting entries for the DV-2027 programme.
The Diversity Visa programme, established by Congress, allocates up to 55,000 immigrant visas each year to nationals of countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Registration for the 2027 cycle had not opened as scheduled, leading to a legal challenge by an immigration law firm.
US District Judge Jinsook Ohta had ordered the department to reopen the lottery, with registration set to begin by 1 November. The government appealed the decision and sought a stay, arguing the lower court order was improper. The appeals court agreed to halt enforcement of the injunction while the case proceeds, leaving the programme suspended for now.
No new registration window has been announced, and the future of the DV-2027 lottery remains uncertain pending further court proceedings.