US appeals court halts launch of DV-2027 Green Card lottery

The US District Court for the Southern District of California ordered the State Department on October 14 to start accepting applications by that date. The lawsuit was filed by the law firm Red Eagle Law, which sought an early start to registration. President Donald Trump's administration appealed the verdict, and a panel of appellate judges suspended its effect indefinitely.

The panel's ruling noted that Red Eagle Law lacked sufficient legal standing for the lawsuit and its financial interests were not sufficiently tied to the program. In the judges' opinion, the lottery "was launched to support immigration, not to provide income for law firms." Curtis Morrison, the firm's founder and head, announced his intention to continue litigation. The company is now looking for foreigners living in the US on nonimmigrant visas who would agree to become plaintiffs against the White House.

The DV-2027 program has not been canceled, but the timing of its launch will depend on the further course of the proceedings. The diversity visa lottery has existed since 1990, with the State Department awarding 50,000 green cards annually. In 2025, the lottery was suspended on Trump's instructions.

As Podrobno.uz writes, experts advise verifying registration details only on the State Department's official website travel.state.gov and not trusting intermediaries or reports about the start of application intake before an official announcement.