US court pauses order to reopen Green Card lottery
A US appeals court has suspended an order requiring the State Department to reopen the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery while the government’s appeal proceeds, reports a Qazinform News Agency correspondent, citing the official court ruling.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the government’s emergency request on October 29. The lower court had required officials to announce registration by October 29, open applications by November 1 and notify selected applicants by December 3.
The case was brought by immigration firm Red Eagle Law after the State Department failed to open registration for the fiscal year 2027 programme.
The appeals panel found that the government was likely to succeed because the firm’s financial interest in representing lottery winners fell outside the interests protected by the programme’s legislation.
“We do not endorse the Department’s failure to open the lottery registration period,” the judges wrote.
The ruling pauses the lower court’s deadlines pending appeal. It does not abolish the Diversity Visa programme or constitute a final decision on the appeal.
The programme provides up to 55,000 immigrant visas annually for people from countries with low immigration rates to the United States.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency explained who can apply for the Diversity Visa lottery and how the process works. The programme offers a pathway to obtaining a Green Card, which allows foreign nationals to live and work permanently in the United States.