Appeals Court Keeps 2027 Diversity Visa Lottery Paused
On October 30, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put on hold a lower-court directive for the State Department to begin enrollment in the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery by November 1. The three-judge panel ruled 2-1, granting the government’s request while its appeal proceeds.
The case was brought by California immigration law firm Red Eagle Law, which represents people selected for diversity visas. The firm sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio in August over the department’s failure to open registration. A federal judge, Jinsook Ohta, later issued a preliminary injunction directing the department to open the application period.
The appeals court said Red Eagle had not shown it was entitled to sue, finding the firm’s alleged injury insufficient to establish standing. The judges said the program aims to bring immigrants to the country rather than earn money for law firms. They also warned that accepting the firm’s argument could allow lawyers to sue over alleged government wrongdoing based on indirect harms.
The panel stressed that its ruling did not decide whether the State Department acted lawfully. It said it did not endorse the department’s failure to open registration, which effectively canceled the fiscal 2027 lottery. The program makes as many as 55,000 visas available each year for nationals of countries whose immigration to the United States is limited. The government’s appeal will continue while the injunction remains suspended.
Court Ruling Leaves Diversity Visa Applicants Without a Path Forward
On October 30, the Ninth Circuit put a lower-court directive for the State Department to begin enrollment in the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery by November 1 on hold. The decision lets the Trump administration keep the program paused while its appeal moves forward, even as the appeals court acknowledged that the department had failed to open registration.
The lottery offers as many as 55,000 visas each year to nationals of countries whose immigration to the United States is limited. Red Eagle Law, which represents visa selectees, sued over the department’s failure to open the application period. A federal judge ordered registration to proceed, but the appeals panel ruled that the law firm lacked standing to bring the case on its own behalf.
The ruling is procedural, not a judgment that the department’s handling of the lottery was lawful. The judges said they did not endorse the failure to open registration, which effectively canceled the 2027 program. Still, the result leaves prospective applicants without the court-ordered opening they had been promised while the government pursues its appeal.
The decision puts the threshold question of who can challenge the pause ahead of the consequences for people seeking a visa. The program was created as an additional immigration route for people who may not qualify through employment- or family-based channels. Registration remains blocked while the appeal continues.
Appeals Court Rejects Law Firm’s Bid to Force Visa Lottery Open
On October 30, the Ninth Circuit halted a lower-court directive for the State Department to begin enrollment in the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery. The 2-1 ruling gives the Trump administration room to keep the program paused as its appeal proceeds, and it rests on a basic limit: a law firm cannot claim standing simply by alleging indirect harm to its business.
Red Eagle Law, which represents diversity visa selectees, brought the suit over the department’s failure to open registration. The appeals panel said the lottery aims to bring immigrants to the country rather than generate income for law firms, and warned that accepting Red Eagle’s theory could let lawyers roam in search of alleged government wrongdoing.
That procedural ruling matters. The court did not decide whether the State Department acted lawfully, and it expressly said it did not approve of the department’s failure to open the application period. But a lower court’s injunction cannot stand when the plaintiff has not shown it has a right to sue.
The lottery makes as many as 55,000 visas available each year for nationals of countries whose immigration to the United States is limited. The State Department’s registration for fiscal 2027 had not opened, and the appeals process will continue with the injunction suspended. The case therefore turns on who may challenge the pause, not on a final ruling about the department’s conduct.
Reported by Newsweek, Fox News, Townhall.
