9th Circuit Court Blocks Order to Reopen Visa Lottery
The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay allowing the Trump administration to keep the 2027 Diversity Visa registration paused.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted an emergency stay on October 29, blocking a lower court order that would have required the State Department to open registration for the fiscal year 2027 Diversity Visa lottery by November 1. The ruling halts a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta.
The appeals court ruled that the plaintiff, Red Eagle Law, lacks standing to sue because its financial interest in representing applicants is only marginally related to the law's purpose of encouraging immigration from underrepresented countries. While the judges stated they did not endorse the State Department's failure to open the registration period without explanation, they found the law was not enacted to generate revenue for law firms.
Separately, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila ordered the State Department to continue processing certain diversity-visa applications for 10 days past the fiscal-year deadline, citing delays in complying with a previous court order. However, Judge Davila rejected a request to reserve 40,000 unused visas for issuance beyond the fiscal year.
Red Eagle Law has indicated it will pursue further litigation and is seeking a noncitizen plaintiff to challenge the administration's suspension of the program, which typically provides 55,000 visas annually.
