Author DVLottery.me 2026-10-20

The DV-2027 lottery is set to go ahead after a federal judge ordered the State Department to run it. Judge Jinsook Ohta issued the preliminary injunction on October 14, 2026, in Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Rubio (No. 3:26-cv-04738-JO-VET), in the Southern District of California.

Under the revised schedule, approved after the court granted a joint request to extend the deadlines, the department must announce registration details by October 29 and open registration by November 1. Entries must stay open for 30 days, and eligible selectees must be notified by December 3. All four deadlines fall at midnight Eastern time.

Those dates bind the government, though, not applicants. Officials don’t confirm when registration will actually launch or close. For now, applicants should wait for the State Department’s announcement and use only the official Electronic Diversity Visa website: https://dvprogram.state.gov/.

The Green Card lottery normally takes place in the autumn before the fiscal year in which visas become available. DV-2026 registration, for example, opened in October 2024, and its visa year ran from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. On that cycle, DV-2027 registration would have opened in autumn 2025.

Instead, on November 5, 2025, the State Department announced it was changing the entry process and would publish the DV-2027 registration and results dates as soon as practicable. The notice kept the visa application period unchanged: October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027.

Fiscal year 2026 then ended on September 30, 2026, with lottery registration still closed, so the new visa year began with would-be participants still waiting to enter. That documented delay, and the squeeze it put on processing time, is what the lawsuit set out to address.

Red Eagle Law, L.C., an immigration law firm, sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his official capacity. The suit was filed on August 19, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, and it asked for emergency relief forcing the government to start the DV-2027 program.

The resulting injunction orders Rubio and the State Department to take specific steps: run registration, notify selectees, and process applications. In practical terms, it puts the program on a fixed timetable while the underlying litigation continues.

A preliminary injunction is a binding court order issued before a case reaches its final conclusion. It can require a party to act while the court works through the remaining legal issues.

Judge Ohta granted this one on October 14, 2026. It requires the department to run the DV-2027 entry and selection process and to handle selected applicants’ cases under its usual procedures, subject to applicable law. It does more than ask the department to consider reopening the program: it orders it.

The first three dated milestones are reported as midnight Eastern time deadlines, though the original and modification documents use the abbreviation “EST.” Applicants should rely on the exact time in the State Department’s public announcement rather than converting the court’s wording into an assumed portal launch time.

<i>The revised DV-2027 timeline requires the registration period, entry website, opening and closing dates, and participation rules to be publicly announced by midnight Eastern time on October 29, 2026. Electronic registration must then open by midnight Eastern time on November 1, 2026, and remain open for 30 days. Eligible selectees must be notified by midnight Eastern time on December 3, 2026. Selected applications will then be processed under the usual procedures and applicable law until either the FY2027 Diversity Visa allocation is exhausted or September 30, 2027, whichever comes first.</i>

The processing requirement does not promise a Green Card to every selected person. Applicants must still qualify to get their immigration visa.

Consular processing

No, but it can challenge it. The government can’t lawfully ignore an operative federal injunction just because it disagrees with the ruling. It has to comply unless a court changes or suspends its obligations.

It does have legal routes. The government can ask the district court to modify the injunction or stay its requirements, or appeal and seek a stay from the appellate court (ordinarily after asking the district court first). An appeal alone doesn’t suspend anything.

If the department misses a deadline and no court has given it more time, the plaintiff can ask the court to force it to comply. In some cases, the court could also punish the department for ignoring the order. Either step needs a new court decision. The injunction also says the court can enforce or change its terms later.

An emergency stay could pause the timetable, and an appellate ruling could alter or reverse the injunction. Even if registration opens, new disputes could arise over how the department runs the program.

Check official announcements and the latest court developments before relying on any date.

The revised order requires registration to open by midnight Eastern time on November 1, 2026. That is the court-ordered deadline, rather than confirmation that the website will begin accepting entries at a particular minute that day.

The entry period must last 30 days. If registration begins around November 1, that suggests a window covering approximately November, potentially ending around November 30 or December 1 depending on the actual opening time. The official announcement must provide the exact closing date and time. Do not calculate your own submission deadline from an approximate date.

Until the department opens the entry period, nobody can submit a valid early entry for you. Start at https://dvprogram.state.gov/ and follow the State Department’s instructions. Avoid unofficial countdown pages that present predictions as confirmed dates.

Applicants generally must have been born in a country eligible for that year’s program. Eligibility reflects immigration levels to the United States and usually follows country of birth, rather than present citizenship or residence.

Limited exceptions may allow an applicant to use a spouse’s eligible country of birth. In defined circumstances, an applicant may use a parent’s country of birth if neither parent was born in, or resident in, the applicant’s birth country when the applicant was born. These exceptions have conditions; they do not permit applicants to choose whichever country offers the best odds.

Check the official Diversity Visa instructions (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/diversity-visa-program-entry/diversity-visa-instructions.html) for the DV-2027 country list and chargeability rules when published. A previous year’s list should not be presented as confirmed DV-2027 eligibility.

(*) Wait for the official portal to open. Submit only during the announced DV-2027 entry period. An agent cannot register you before the government accepts entries. (*) Use official sources. Monitor the State Department’s DV instructions and news pages, then enter through https://dvprogram.state.gov. (*) Review your eligibility. Check your country of birth, any chargeability exception, and your education or qualifying work history. Identify records you may need if selected. (*) Prepare a digital photograph. Follow the current State Department specifications for recency, composition, background, and file format. Use Visafoto’s DV lottery photo editor to instantly create a compliant photo online: https://visafoto.com/diversity-visa-lottery-photo. (*) Prepare your passport and scan. Check the passport rule and any applicable exception. Use the required format and upload instructions when registration opens. (*) Follow the official fee instructions. Expect the $1 government registration fee under the current rule. Avoid payment requests outside the authorized process. Learn more about the new DV lottery fee in this article: https://dvlottery.me/blog/5300-dv-lottery-registration-fee. (*) Submit one accurate entry and save the confirmation number. Review family details carefully and retain a copy of the confirmation page. Multiple entries for the same person during one registration period can lead to disqualification. (*) Watch the key milestones. Check for the announcement by October 29, opening by November 1, and selection information by December 3. Recheck sooner if a court issues a stay or modifies the injunction.