Green card lottery cancelled for fiscal year 2027? Check latest status of Diversity Visa Program that offers 55,000 US visas?

Donald Trump administration can keep the Diversity Visa lottery paused after a federal appeals court had blocked an order that directed the federal government to reopen the program. The Trump administration can now pursue an appeal. The Diversity Visa Program is commonly known as the green card lottery.

The federal government had made an urgent appeal to stay a preliminary injunction that directed the State Department to commence Diversity Visa Program registration for the fiscal year 2027 by November 1. A three-judge panel of the US Circuit Court of Appeals has approved the plea, Newsweek reported.

What is Diversity Visa Program?


Diversity Visa Program is also called the green card lottery. It was introduced to extend immigration opportunities for people of particular countries that remained underrepresented in the US immigration system.

Under the green card lottery system, around 55,000 visas were annually given to citizens from countries which traditionally have low immigration to the US. Since the program won't open for scheduled registration, there are reports that the green card lottery for fiscal 2027 has been 'effectively' cancelled.

Earlier, the US federal judge ordered the State Department to continue processing specified diversity-visa applications for 10 days beyond the fiscal-year deadline, finding that the department had delayed complying with an earlier court order. US District Judge Edward Davila in California on Wednesday (local time) granted part of an emergency request by applicants.

The order requires the department to make reasonable, good-faith efforts to reconsider applications refused solely under two suspended visa policies and resume ordinary processing of pending applications.

It does not guarantee applicants a visa. Davila also rejected a broader request to reserve approximately 40,000 unused diversity visas for issuance beyond the fiscal year.

The preliminary injunction, issued August 28, had temporarily set aside policies identified in the ruling as the State Department's diversity-visa pause and its 75-country pause.

It directed the department to reconsider affected applications and resume processing during the remaining weeks of the fiscal year.

According to Wednesday's ruling, the department attributed its initial delay to preparing guidance for diplomatic and consular posts. Davila said it should have sought a temporary stay, requested other relief or informed the court of the delay.

Instead, the department waited until applicants raised its noncompliance before sending instructions to overseas posts, the judge found.