United States · Immigration Law
Will there be a 2027 green card lottery? What the DV-2027 lawsuit could decide
The State Department never opened registration for the 2027 diversity visa lottery, and a Southern California law firm is suing to force it. A federal judge refused emergency relief on September 3, heard arguments on September 24 and set her ruling for October 14, 2026. The government argues it is now too late to run DV-2027.
At a glance
The practical result
- Court
- Federal court in San Diego, Judge Jinsook Ohta
- Outcome so far
- Emergency order refused, next ruling October 14
- Law
- U.S. immigration law and the State Department's lottery rules
- Immediate effect
- DV-2027 registration stays closed
In this article
- Is the DV lottery 2027 open?
- The lawsuit asking a court to open DV-2027
- What the judge has decided so far
- What each side argues
- Why the government says the deadline has passed
- What will change when entry opens
- What other courts have said
- How the green card lottery lawsuit got here
- What happens next
- What to check if you plan to enter
- Your questions about the 2027 green card lottery
Short answer: If you've been waiting for DV lottery 2027 registration, it never opened: as of September 27, 2026, the State Department has announced no dates for the 2027 green card lottery. A Southern California immigration law firm has asked a federal judge to order a registration period of at least 30 days, and the judge has set her ruling for October 14, 2026. The government argues it is now too late to run DV-2027 at all, and in the cases we found, no court has ordered the State Department to open it.
Is the DV lottery 2027 open?
No. The diversity visa program, often called the green card lottery, offers up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year, the number the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the main U.S. immigration law, sets, to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. You normally enter online during a set window about a year before the visas are issued. For DV-2026, that window ran from October 2 to November 7, 2024, according to the corrected Federal Register notice.
For DV-2027, the State Department posted on November 5, 2025 that it was "implementing certain changes to the Diversity Visa (DV) entry process" and would announce the registration start date "as soon as practicable." As of September 27, 2026, it had not announced one, and we found no Federal Register notice with DV-2027 dates. The same notice said the visa period for people selected for DV-2027 "will remain October 1, 2026, to September 30, 2027."
The names trip people up. DV-2027 is named for the year its visas are issued, so its entry period would normally have run in the fall of 2025. The next program, DV-2028, would normally take entries in the fall of 2026. As of September 27, 2026 we found no announced dates for it, and Courthouse News reported that 2028 registration hasn't been announced either.
If a website, message or agent says it can enter you in the 2027 green card lottery today, it is wrong: entry is closed. In November 2025, the U.S. Embassy in Algeria warned about "fraudulent claims that DV-2027 entry is open" and services "falsely claiming they can increase your chances of selection." The State Department says it found 2.5 million fraudulent entries in DV-2025.
The lawsuit asking a court to open DV-2027
On August 19, 2026, Red Eagle Law, L.C., an immigration law firm in Bonsall, California, sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio in federal court in San Diego. The case is Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Rubio, No. 3:26-cv-04738, before U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta. The firm says it has represented "several hundred Diversity Visa selectees" since 2023 and faces "imminent economic harm" if DV-2027 never runs.
It makes two claims: that failing to open DV-2027 breaks the Administrative Procedure Act, the federal law that lets courts review what agencies do, and that the Secretary acted beyond his legal authority. It asks the court to order him to "establish a period of at least 30 days in September 2026 in which individuals may register for the 2027 Diversity Visa Program." The firm is suing only for itself. It is not a class action, a case brought for everyone who wanted to enter.
If you had planned to enter, the outcome may decide whether DV-2027 happens at all, but it will not decide your own eligibility or your odds. An immigration lawyer can look at whether another path to a green card fits your situation.
What the judge has decided so far
On September 3, 2026, Judge Ohta denied the firm's request for a temporary restraining order, a short emergency order, "without prejudice," which means the firm could ask again. The written order gives no reasons beyond those "stated on the record at oral argument." At that hearing, Courthouse News reported, she asked, "How would we fix the injury for fiscal year 2027?" and, agreeing with the government's lawyer, said, "Much of the ship has sailed already."
Instead, she set a fast schedule for a preliminary injunction, an order that would last while the case goes on. The firm filed its motion on September 7, the government opposed it on September 14, and the judge heard argument on September 24, the docket shows. Newsweek reported the same schedule after the September 3 hearing.
On September 24, Judge Ohta said she had not yet decided whether the firm has standing, the legal right to bring the case at all. "I am still struggling with it, to be fully honest with both of you," she said, according to Courthouse News. She did not decide that day. She will announce her ruling on October 14, 2026, and said it "is going to bear the weight of this entire case, because of the time frames and what is at stake."
What each side argues
| Question | Red Eagle Law | The government |
|---|---|---|
| Can a law firm bring this case? | Yes. It relies on diversity visa clients and faces "imminent economic harm" if DV-2027 never runs. | No. Its interests are "outside what the statute intended to protect," and "Red Eagle Law has no federally protected right to bill clients for its services under the INA." |
| Is it too late? | No. It asks for a registration period in September 2026 and says government lawyers told it they were working on the program. | Yes. A registration period had to end by September 30, 2026 to count for 2027 visas, so compliance is "a literal impossibility." |
| Can the court set the dates? | Yes. It asks the court to order the Secretary to set a registration period of at least 30 days. | No. "Inventing timetables for the agency" is outside what the court can do, government lawyer Ian Pike argued. |
| Must the lottery run every year? | Yes. It calls the lottery a recurring annual program that requires a registration period each fiscal year. | Not now. "The agency does have a duty to run the lottery under a very strict set of deadlines." Pike said a court could have ordered it "six months ago." He added, "That just can't happen now." |
Why the government says the deadline has passed
The law ties each lottery to a single fiscal year, and the government says the window for DV-2027 entries has closed. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1154(a)(1)(I), the Secretary of State "shall designate a period for the filing of petitions" for diversity visas "for the fiscal year beginning after the end of the period," and people who are selected "remain eligible to receive such visa only through the end of the specific fiscal year for which they were selected." The State Department's own rule promises an entry period "of not less than thirty days during each fiscal year" and says the dates will be published in the Federal Register.
The government reads those words to mean a DV-2027 entry period had to close inside fiscal year 2026, which ends September 30, 2026. "If it ends in 2027, those visas go to fiscal year 2028," Justice Department lawyer Ian Pike told the court on September 24, Courthouse News reported. Judge Ohta pushed back, asking, "How is it the government can do that, but the court can't order remedial action which is ordering the government to do what it says on its face it's doing?"
The State Department's notices describe "certain changes" to the entry process, and in a March 11, 2026 rule requiring passports for entries it wrote that it "anticipates the deferral of the opening of the entry period for the 2027 Diversity Visa program year" would give people time to get one. Red Eagle Law's complaint says the Secretary "has nearly run out the clock on offering a 30-day entry period for DV-2027, likely with hopes of not implementing DV-2027 at all." The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment, Courthouse News reported.
- 55,000
- diversity visas the law allows each fiscal year
- 30 days
- shortest entry period the State Department allows
- 10M
- entrants the State Department expected for DV-2027
What will change when entry opens
Whenever the next entry period opens, the rules will differ from DV-2026. A September 2025 rule adds a $1 registration fee, collected "through an authorized U.S. Government payment portal at the time of registration," on top of the $330 diversity visa application fee that selected applicants pay. The March 2026 rule requires each entry to include details from a valid, unexpired passport and a scan of its biographic and signature page, unless you are exempt, and the State Department applies it starting with DV-2027.
The basic eligibility rules come from the statute and have not changed. You need at least a high school education or its equivalent, or two years of work experience within the past five years in a job that requires at least two years of training or experience, under 8 U.S.C. § 1153(c). Which countries qualify can change from year to year: for DV-2026, natives of 19 countries, including Mexico, India and Nigeria, could not enter, the DV-2026 instructions say.
| What | DV-2026 | DV-2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Entry period | October 2 to November 7, 2024 | Not opened as of September 27, 2026 |
| Cost to enter | Free | $1 registration fee under the September 2025 rule |
| Passport at entry | Not required | Valid, unexpired passport details and a scan, unless exempt |
| Selection results | Entrant Status Check from May 4, 2025 | No date announced |
| Visa year | October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 | October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 |
| Visas available | Up to 55,000 | Up to 55,000 |
What other courts have said
Red Eagle Law's suit is not the first to raise DV-2027. In Ivanov v. Trump, No. 26-cv-915, Judge Richard J. Leon of the federal court in Washington, D.C., dismissed a DV-2027 claim on August 25, 2026 brought by people selected for DV-2026. He found they lacked standing because any harm depended on "whether plaintiffs will apply for the DV program in 2027 and whether they will be selected." In the same opinion, he found the State Department's December 2025 pause on issuing diversity visas unlawful, but only for the named plaintiffs and their family members. The Department had paused issuance while it reviewed screening and vetting, citing national security concerns, as Newsweek reported. The San Diego case tests a different question: whether a law firm that serves diversity visa clients can sue.
People selected for DV-2026 face their own deadline. In Medani v. Trump, No. 26-cv-6332, a federal court in Northern California on August 28, 2026 temporarily set aside a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) hold on DV-2026 green card applications filed inside the United States. It ordered USCIS, "to the extent practicable and in good faith, to take all reasonable steps during the remainder of the Diversity Visa fiscal year" to resume processing them for a certified class of DV-2026 selectees, USCIS announced. USCIS said it "strongly disagrees with the Court's order but will follow its terms." In the same August 28 order, Judge Edward J. Davila told the State Department, "to the extent practicable and in good faith, to take all reasonable steps during the remainder of the Diversity Visa fiscal year to reconsider applications refused solely under the DOS DV Pause," meaning its December 2025 pause, and to "resume ordinary adjudication of pending applications," the court docket shows. On September 10, he issued an order enforcing his injunction that requires the State Department to file status reports three times a week until the fiscal year ends, the docket shows. Red Eagle Law also represents applicants in that case, Courthouse News reported. Under the DV-2026 instructions, no DV-2026 visa can be issued after September 30, 2026.
Both cases belong to a wider run of 2026 disputes over when federal courts will and won't step in against government officials.
How the green card lottery lawsuit got here
Entries open for DV-2026, the most recent green card lottery to hold a registration period. They close November 7, 2024.
A State Department rule takes effect adding a $1 fee to register for the lottery.
The State Department says it will announce DV-2027 registration dates "as soon as practicable."
The U.S. Embassy in Algeria warns that DV-2027 entry is not open and that claims otherwise are false.
A final rule requires passport details for lottery entries, starting with DV-2027. It takes effect April 10, 2026.
Red Eagle Law sues Secretary of State Marco Rubio in federal court in San Diego.
In a separate case in Washington, D.C., Judge Richard J. Leon dismisses a DV-2027 claim for lack of standing.
Judge Ohta denies a temporary restraining order and sets a fast schedule for a preliminary injunction.
Judge Ohta hears argument on the preliminary injunction and sets an oral ruling for October 14, 2026.
What happens next
The next fixed date is the ruling. The docket entry reads: "Oral Ruling on the Motion for Preliminary Injunction is set for 10/14/2026 09:30 AM in Courtroom 13B before Judge Jinsook Ohta." Judge Ohta said she would announce a decision by October 14 at a hearing or in a written order, Courthouse News reported.
September 30, 2026 matters too. It is the last day of fiscal year 2026, the date by which the government says a DV-2027 entry period had to end, and the last day any DV-2026 visa can be issued. The government has already argued that a period ending after that date could only count toward 2028 visas. A preliminary injunction ruling would not be the final judgment in the case.
| Question | As of September 27, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Can I enter now? | No. Registration never opened, and the State Department has announced no dates. |
| When will the judge rule? | An oral ruling is set for October 14, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. in San Diego. |
| What is the firm asking for? | An order for a registration period of at least 30 days. |
| What does the government say? | It is too late: a period ending after September 30, 2026 would count toward 2028 visas. |
| Would the ruling end the case? | No. A preliminary injunction is temporary, though the judge says this one will carry the case. |
| Has DV-2028 registration been announced? | We found no announced dates. |
What to check if you plan to enter
This is general information, not legal advice. The U.S. Embassy in London warns that the U.S. government will not ask you to send diversity visa fees to named people or by bank transfer, Western Union or PayPal, and that no one can credibly promise you have "won" a visa, because only a consular officer decides after an interview. The DV-2026 instructions also warn about facilitators who keep an entrant's confirmation page "and then demand more money."
If money, a visa already in process or a deadline is at stake, talk with an immigration lawyer. How to find a good lawyer covers the questions to ask at a first consultation, and if you're in the United States, you can ask Juricue to help you connect with a lawyer.
- Where you enter: only on the State Department's own website during an announced registration period. Results come only through Entrant Status Check at dvprogram.state.gov, never by email or letter.
- What you pay: no one can enter you early or raise your odds. When entry opens, the State Department's own charge is a $1 fee paid through a U.S. government payment portal when you register.
- Your confirmation number: keep it yourself, because some facilitators have held it back to demand more money.
- Your passport: entries from DV-2027 on need details from a valid, unexpired passport and a scan of its biographic and signature page, unless you are exempt.
- Whether you qualify: a high school education or its equivalent, or two years of qualifying work experience in the past five years, and a country that is eligible that year.
- The ruling: Judge Ohta's decision, set for October 14, 2026, and any State Department notice with DV-2027 or DV-2028 dates.
Your questions about the 2027 green card lottery
Is DV-2027 registration open?
No. As of September 27, 2026, the State Department has not opened registration for DV-2027 or announced dates. It said in November 2025 that it would announce them "as soon as practicable," and a federal judge in San Diego is set to rule on October 14, 2026 on a lawsuit asking her to order a registration period.
When is the 2027 green card lottery?
No date has been set. DV-2027 is named for the year its visas are issued, October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, so its registration would normally have run in October and November 2025. The government argues it is now too late to hold a DV-2027 entry period at all; Red Eagle Law argues it is not.
Is the green card lottery canceled?
The State Department has not announced a cancellation, and the law still provides up to 55,000 diversity visas each fiscal year. In a March 2026 rule, the Department described the DV-2027 entry period as delayed. In court, the government now argues it is too late to run DV-2027. Separately, the State Department paused issuing diversity visas in December 2025, and a federal judge in Washington, D.C. held that pause unlawful for the named plaintiffs in that case only. A federal judge in California also temporarily set it aside for a certified class of DV-2026 selectees.
What is the green card lottery lawsuit about?
In Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Rubio, No. 3:26-cv-04738, an immigration law firm asks the federal court in San Diego to order the Secretary of State to open a DV-2027 registration period of at least 30 days. The judge denied an emergency order on September 3, 2026, heard arguments on September 24 for an order that would last while the case goes on and set her ruling for October 14.
When can I enter the DV-2028 lottery?
No dates had been announced as of September 27, 2026. Entries normally open in the fall, about a year before the visa year begins. Under State Department rules adopted in 2025 and 2026, entries will need passport details, unless you are exempt, and a $1 registration fee.
Can someone enter me in the DV lottery for a fee?
Not now, because entry is closed, and no one can raise your chances of selection. When entry opens, the only official way to enter is the State Department's website, and its own charge is a $1 registration fee. U.S. embassies warn about scams that promise entry or a "won" visa for money.
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