US court orders State Department to conduct DV-2027 Green Card lottery

The ruling was issued on October 14, 2026, by Judge Jinsook Ohta in a lawsuit filed by the law firm Red Eagle Law against US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The lawyers challenged the delay in launching the drawing, registration for which was supposed to take place in the autumn of 2025, but never started.

The court initially ordered application intake to launch no later than October 18; however, it subsequently granted a joint motion from the parties to revise the schedule. According to the updated details, the State Department must announce the registration dates by October 29, launch a 30-day intake of applications no later than November 1, and notify selected applicants by December 3, 2026.

The Diversity Visa program grants up to 55,000 immigrant visas annually. The agency is required to process the applications of winning participants in the standard manner until the visa cap is reached or until the fiscal year closes at the end of September 2027.