Federal Judge Orders Diversity Visa Program to Open

A federal judge has mandated the Trump administration to initiate the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery after missing the scheduled start of the program’s registration period. U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta issued a preliminary injunction, compelling the State Department, under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to commence a registration period for the fiscal year 2027 program.

This ruling permits potential applicants to participate in the green card lottery. The State Department must continue processing entries until either all 55,000 visas are allocated or the 2027 fiscal year concludes.

The court directed the State Department to announce and open the DV-2027 registration period by midnight Eastern time on Thursday. This requirement, as detailed by Curtis Morrison, attorney for Red Eagle Law L.C., specifies that the registration period should remain open for a minimum of 30 days.

The Trump administration, known for opposing the Diversity Visa program, failed to start the DV-2027 registration before the close of the previous fiscal year. The government argued that initiating registration now would conflict with established program timing regulations.

The lawsuit filed by Red Eagle Law against Rubio claims that the State Department’s inaction violated the Administrative Procedure Act. Since President Donald Trump’s second term began, his administration has tightened legal immigration paths, including visa programs, while increasing immigration enforcement.

Congress created the Diversity Visa program in 1990 to grant green cards to eligible individuals from countries with historically low U.S. immigration rates. Lottery winners must satisfy all immigration requirements to receive their visas.

This story is still developing, and further updates will be provided as new information becomes available.