The Diversity Visa programme, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery, makes up to 55,000 immigrant visas available annually to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the US.
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on October 29 granted an emergency stay requested by the government, suspending a lower court directive that would have required the State Department to announce registration details by October 29 and open applications by November 1.
African countries have traditionally accounted for a significant share of its beneficiaries, making the programme an important route for people seeking to move to America outside family-sponsored and employment-based immigration channels.
The lottery has not opened for the 2027 cycle, and the appeals court’s decision leaves prospective applicants without a confirmed registration date.
Why the court halted the reopening
The dispute began after the State Department failed to open registration for the 2027 lottery. In August, immigration law firm Red Eagle Law sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio, arguing that the government’s failure to provide application dates effectively cancelled the programme.
On October 14, US District Judge Jinsook Ohta issued a preliminary injunction directing the department to announce registration dates, open the application window and notify selected entrants by December 3.
The government appealed, prompting the Ninth Circuit to suspend the order. The appeals court said Red Eagle Law had not demonstrated that its commercial interest in representing lottery winners was sufficiently connected to the programme’s purpose of encouraging immigration from underrepresented countries.
The judges stressed that the programme was created to encourage immigration, not generate revenue for law firms. They also made clear that their decision did not endorse the State Department’s failure to open registration.
The programme’s annual allocation is 55,000 visas, while roughly 100,000 applicants are typically selected through the lottery to proceed with visa applications. Selection does not guarantee a visa, as successful entrants must still meet education or work-experience requirements and pass immigration checks.
With the reopening order now on hold, African hopefuls must wait for further developments in the appeal before knowing whether and when they can register for the 2027 lottery.
Source: africa.businessinsider.com
