Ninth Circuit Pauses Order to Reopen DV-2027 Registration

The Ninth Circuit on October 29 stayed a lower-court order requiring the State Department to reopen registration for the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery, leaving prospective entrants without a confirmed date to apply while the government’s appeal proceeds. The emergency stay suspends the requirements imposed by a California federal court on October 14. That court had ordered the department to announce registration arrangements by October 29 and open a 30-day entry period by November 1. It also required officials to notify selected entrants by December 3. Those deadlines are not enforceable while the stay remains in place. The appeal stems from the department’s failure to open DV-2027 registration. Red Eagle Law, an immigration law firm, sued in August 2026, arguing that the suspension violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The firm brought the case in its own name; no prospective DV-2027 entrant joined as a plaintiff. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling focused on whether the firm had standing to sue. The panel said Red Eagle Law had not shown that its financial interests fell within the protections of the Diversity Visa statute, which is intended to encourage immigration from...