A U.S. federal court has ordered the Trump administration to reopen registration for the fiscal year 2027 Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery by Nov. 1, giving eligible applicants another opportunity to enter a program that offers a pathway to permanent residency in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta issued the order on Oct. 14 in Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Rubio, directing the State Department to announce the registration schedule by October 29 and begin accepting applications by Nov. 1. The revised timeline follows a legal challenge over the delay in launching the annual registration process.
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Under the revised schedule, registration is expected to remain open for 30 days. Applicants should wait for the State Department to confirm the official dates, eligibility requirements and application instructions before submitting their entries.
The case was brought by California-based immigration firm Red Eagle Law, which challenged the administration’s failure to open registration for the 2027 lottery on its usual schedule. The firm argued that the delay prevented eligible individuals from accessing the program.
Judge Ohta found that the government was likely to have acted arbitrarily and capriciously by failing to begin the registration process. The court subsequently approved a revised timeline following a joint request from the parties.
Under the order, the State Department must accept eligible electronic entries and process selected applicants according to the program’s established procedures. Visa processing can continue until the available visas for fiscal year 2027 are exhausted or Sept. 30, 2027, whichever comes first.
The Diversity Visa program, commonly known as the Green Card lottery, makes up to 55,000 immigrant visas available annually to people from countries that have historically sent relatively few immigrants to the United States.
Unlike many employment-based immigration pathways, the program generally does not require applicants to have a U.S. job offer or employer sponsorship. However, entering the lottery does not guarantee selection or permanent residency. Selected applicants must still meet the eligibility requirements, complete the necessary paperwork and pass the required immigration and security checks before receiving a visa.
Applicants must also meet the program’s education or work-experience criteria. They generally need a high school education or its equivalent, or qualifying work experience in an eligible occupation. Meeting these requirements allows them to enter the lottery but does not improve their chances of being selected.
For Indian nationals hoping to obtain a Green Card, however, the reopening comes with an important limitation. People born in India are generally ineligible for the Diversity Visa lottery because the country has historically had high levels of immigration to the United States.
Eligibility is usually determined by the applicant’s country of birth, not citizenship or current place of residence. This means that an Indian citizen born in an eligible country may qualify, while an Indian-born applicant does not become eligible simply by living in another country or holding a different passport.
There are limited exceptions to the country-of-birth rule. In certain circumstances, applicants may claim eligibility through a spouse’s country of birth or a parent’s country of birth, provided they satisfy the applicable conditions. Prospective applicants should check the official eligibility rules before submitting an entry.
For applicants from eligible countries, the court-ordered reopening could provide a fresh opportunity to pursue permanent residency through a program that does not ordinarily require employer sponsorship. However, they must submit their entries within the designated registration period and follow the State Department’s instructions.
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Prospective applicants should monitor official announcements from the State Department for confirmation of the registration dates, entry procedures and eligibility requirements. Entries should be submitted through the official government website, and applicants should be cautious of third-party agents or websites that promise guaranteed selection in exchange for payment.
The lottery offers a potential route to a Green Card, but selection alone does not confer immigration status or guarantee that a visa will be issued. Applicants who do not qualify because of their country of birth may need to consider other pathways, including employment-based or family-sponsored immigration, depending on their individual circumstances.