The Ninth Circuit Freezes Ohta's Schedule
The Ninth Circuit has put a federal judge's order on hold, handing the Trump administration a significant win in the fight over the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery. A unanimous three-judge panel granted the administration's emergency request to stay the lower-court order while the appeal continues. That means Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the State Department do not have to open registration by November 1 under the timetable set by U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta. One federal court's deadline has been placed on ice by another. Federal litigation has once again turned a calendar date into a full-contact sport.
DV-2027 Never Reached the Starting Gate
The dispute began because the State Department never opened the normal registration period for fiscal year 2027. According to the Ninth Circuit's October 29 order, the unexplained inaction effectively canceled the program. The Diversity Visa system offers as many as 55,000 visas to people from countries with historically low immigration rates. Before each fiscal year, roughly 100,000 lottery selectees are normally chosen from millions of entrants and invited to apply. Being selected does not guarantee a visa. For DV-2027, however, there was no entry window at all, and the record offered no explanation for leaving it closed.
Red Eagle Law Took the Delay to Court
Red Eagle Law, a California immigration firm that has represented lottery selectees, sued Rubio in August. The firm claimed the administration's failure to run the lottery was arbitrary, capricious, and an unlawful refusal to perform a required agency action. Red Eagle was the only plaintiff. It did not sue on behalf of a prospective entrant and did not claim to represent one at the time. Judge Ohta nevertheless issued a preliminary injunction on October 14. Her amended schedule required the department to announce registration dates by October 29, open registration by November 1 for 30 days, and notify selected entrants by December 3. Ohta reasoned that the firm's expected loss of clients and revenue gave it enough interest to challenge the government's inaction.
The Appeal Now Centers on Who May Sue
The Trump administration argued that Red Eagle's anticipated future clients were not the kind of interest protected by the Diversity Visa statute. The Ninth Circuit said the government had made a strong showing that it would likely prevail because the law firm may fall outside the statute's “zone of interests.” Congress created the program to encourage immigration from countries with historically low immigration rates, while the firm's interest in earning fees from future clients was only marginally connected to that purpose. The panel put the issue plainly: “The Diversity Visa Program was enacted to encourage immigration, not generate revenue for law firms.” Curtis Morrison, the attorney behind the lawsuit, confirmed that the entry period will not begin on November 1, 2026. The stay pauses Ohta's order while the appeal proceeds, leaving the larger legal dispute unresolved.
Update: the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the Trump administration's motion to stay the order requiring the entry period for the FY-2027 Diversity Visa program. This means the DV-2027 lottery entry period will not begin November 1, 2026. https://t.co/hiijbfw61N 1/3
— Curtis Morrison (@curtismorrison) October 30, 2026
Another *huge* immigration win for President Trump and Secretary Rubio. Must they, now, open the diversity visa lottery program? The program gives visas to people for being from countries without many people that qualify for merit based visas. No, per the Ninth Circuit. Stayed! pic.twitter.com/u9wANV8VZu
— Eric W. (@EWess92) October 30, 2026
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