Appeals court lets Trump administration keep Diversity Visa lottery closed for now

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked an order that would have forced the Trump administration to reopen the Diversity Visa lottery. The government can keep the program paused while it pursues an appeal ¹.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the government's emergency request on Thursday. It put on hold a preliminary injunction that would have required the State Department to open registration for the fiscal year 2027 program by Sunday, Nov. 1 ¹.

What the lottery is

The Diversity Visa Program, often called the green card lottery, makes up to 55,000 visas available each year to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States ¹². The appeals court said the State Department had failed, without explanation, to open the 2027 registration period, “effectively canceling” the program ¹.

How the case got here

Red Eagle Law, a California immigration firm that represents Diversity Visa selectees, sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio in August. The suit challenged the department's failure to open registration ¹. It was brought under the Administrative Procedure Act, the law that governs how federal agencies must act ².

U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta granted the injunction in mid-October. She described the government's inaction as “arbitrary and capricious government action,” according to Newsweek's report on her ruling ². She also found the lack of registration had effectively suspended the program without enough explanation ².

The administration argued that opening a delayed registration period would conflict with program timing rules. Ohta rejected that argument ². A State Department spokesperson said the department “is putting American interests first in our visa process” and generally does not comment on pending litigation ².

Why the appeals court sided with the government

The panel's reasoning was narrow. It said Red Eagle had not shown it was likely to win because the firm “is not within the zone of interests of the statute and does not have a cause of action” ¹. In plain terms, the judges questioned whether this plaintiff has the right to bring the claim at all.

We do not endorse the Department’s failure to open the lottery registration period.

The ruling does not settle the appeal. It only puts the lower court's order on hold while the appeal moves forward ¹.

What happens next

The government's underlying appeal continues, and the sources give no date for a final decision ¹. Unless the order is revived or the State Department acts on its own, fiscal 2027 registration will not open on the Nov. 1 deadline ¹.

That matters because the court itself said the department's inaction was effectively canceling a program Congress created, and it did so without a public explanation ¹. The pattern is a legal-immigration pathway being closed by delay. The fight now turns on who is allowed to challenge that in court. The sources include no reaction from congressional Democrats.

The Record

1. Aug 1, 2026Red Eagle Law sues Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the failure to open fiscal 2027 Diversity Visa registration (filed in August) ¹.
2. Oct 14, 2026U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta grants a preliminary injunction ordering the State Department to set up a registration period ².
3. Oct 29, 2026A 9th Circuit panel stays the injunction, letting the government keep the lottery paused during its appeal ¹.

Sources

1. Newsweek, “Green Card Update: Judge Freezes Reopening of Diversity Visa Lottery” (2026-10-30). newsweek.com/green-card-update-judge-freezes-reopening-of-di
2. Newsweek, “Green Card Update as Marco Rubio Ordered to Reopen 2027 Lottery” (2026-10-15). newsweek.com/green-card-update-as-marco-rubio-ordered-to-reo

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