US Ninth Circuit blocks order to open 2027 visa lottery registration

The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2–1 to block an order requiring the State Department to open registration for the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery, Fox News said. The decision makes District Judge Jinsook Ohta’s preliminary injunction—an order issued before a case is finally decided—unenforceable.

The registration period had not opened after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a November notice delaying new applications to “implement certain changes.” The State Department also ordered an indefinite pause on issuing diversity visas. Accepting entries into the lottery and issuing visas are separate steps.

Why the court blocked the order

The appeals court found that Red Eagle Law, an immigration law firm serving people going through the lottery process, lacked standing—the legal basis needed to bring this lawsuit. The court said the program was intended to “encourage immigration, not generate revenue for law firms.”

Former federal prosecutor Abhishek Kambli said the firm had brought the claim on its own behalf, rather than on behalf of someone in the diversity visa lottery.

The ruling addressed the firm’s ability to sue, not whether the State Department acted lawfully by failing to open registration. That legal question remains undecided.

We do not endorse the Department’s failure to open the lottery registration period.