A federal judge is weighing whether the Trump administration can still be required to open the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery after the government argued that the legal deadline for running the program has already passed. The dispute could determine whether the delayed green card lottery is revived or whether fiscal year 2027 passes without a new registration period. District Judge Jinsook Ohta is considering a request from Red Eagle Law, L.C., a California immigration law firm that sued Secretary of State Rubio over the State Department's failure to open registration for the Diversity Visa Program for fiscal year 2027.
Ohta has said she expects to announce a decision by October 14, either at a hearing or through a written order. The court has scheduled an oral ruling on the firm's motion for a preliminary injunction for 9:30 a.m. that day. The Diversity Visa Program, commonly known as the green card lottery, makes up to 55,000 immigrant visas available each year to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.
Congress established the program through the Immigration Act of 1990. Federal regulations provide for an entry period of at least 30 days during which people can register for the program. The State Department said in November 2025 that it was making changes to the DV entry process and would announce the start date for DV-2027 registration "as soon as practicable." It also said that the changes would not affect the period during which successful DV-2027 applicants could apply for visas, which it said would remain from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027.
Registration, however, did not open before fiscal year 2026 ended on September 30. Red Eagle Law filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on August 19 and subsequently sought emergency relief requiring the government to begin the DV-2027 process.
In its filing, the firm argues that the State Department has a mandatory obligation to administer the program and establish a registration period. It contends that failing to do so violates the Administrative Procedure Act and exceeds the secretary's lawful authority. The firm points in part to federal regulations stating that the department "will establish" a period of no less than 30 days during each fiscal year for people to submit entries for visas available in the following fiscal year.
The lawsuit also relies on the statutory language governing diversity visas, arguing that Congress's use of mandatory language means the executive branch cannot effectively decline to operate the program. Those arguments remain allegations by the plaintiff and have not been accepted by the court. The government disputes that the court can provide the relief the firm is seeking now that fiscal year 2027 has begun.
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