DV Lottery 2027 Never Opened: What Happens to Green Card Lottery Applicants and DV-2026 Winners?
DV Lottery 2027 Never Opened: What Happens to Green Card Lottery Applicants and DV-2026 Winners?
Updated October 10, 2026
By Alena Shautsova, New York Immigration Lawyer
You checked the website. You waited for the announcement. Perhaps you prepared your photograph, renewed your passport, and told your family that this could finally be your opportunity.
But the DV-2027 registration window never opened.
Meanwhile, people who had already been selected for DV-2026 faced a different nightmare: visa processing restrictions, approaching deadlines, and uncertainty about whether a court victory would actually lead to a visa.
These are two separate problems affecting the same immigration program. Understanding the difference matters—especially now, when outdated articles, social media rumors, and promises of “early registration” can make an already confusing situation worse.
Here is what prospective entrants and DV-2026 selectees need to know about the Green Card Lottery status as of October 10, 2026.
Is DV Lottery 2027 Registration Open?
No. DV-2027 registration has not opened.
On November 5, 2025, the Department of State announced that it was changing the Diversity Visa entry process. It said the registration opening date and the date for checking selection results would be announced later. Its announcement nevertheless retained October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027, as the visa application period for DV-2027 selectees.
That announcement did not provide an entry window. Nearly a year later, prospective applicants are still waiting. The delayed registration means there has been no ordinary DV-2027 selection process producing winners.
The official announcement is available on the Department of State’s DV-2027 updates page.
An important distinction: a visa year beginning does not mean lottery registration has opened. Applicants need an actual registration announcement and an available entry process.
DV-2026, DV-2027, and DV-2028 Are Different Programs
Searching for “Green Card Lottery 2026” can produce misleading results because websites sometimes use the calendar year when discussing a different fiscal-year program.
| Program | What applicants need to understand |
| DV-2026 | People were selected, but many encountered processing restrictions. Post-deadline relief is now tied to the Medani litigation. |
| DV-2027 | Registration never opened on the expected schedule; the announced visa year began October 1, 2026. |
| DV-2028 | Applicants should not assume a normal fall 2026 registration window. No registration dates have been announced in the information available for this update. |
The registration uncertainty and the DV-2026 court proceedings concern different groups. A court order addressing existing DV-2026 applications does not open DV-2027 or DV-2028 registration.
Did Lawsuits Help Open DV-2027 Registration?
Litigation has challenged the failure to open DV-2027 registration, including a lawsuit reported in August 2026. However, those efforts have not produced an open registration window as of this update.
That is more accurate than saying simply that “lawsuits did not help.”
A lawsuit may remain pending, seek additional relief, or address a different part of the program. A lack of immediate practical results does not establish that every legal challenge has been finally rejected.
For prospective entrants, however, the immediate answer remains frustratingly simple: you cannot submit an official lottery entry until the government opens the registration period.
What Happened to DV-2026 Winners?
DV-2026 selectees had already cleared the random-selection stage. Their problem was obtaining adjudication and, if eligible, visa issuance before their opportunity expired.
The State Department’s December 2025 diversity visa issuance pause became a central obstacle. Following the August 28, 2026 order in Medani v. Trump, the Department acknowledged that this pause was no longer in effect.
But removing a policy obstacle and completing an individual case are different events.
A family can win relief in court and still need an interview appointment. An applicant can attend an interview and still need additional processing. A favorable legal development does not itself print a visa or resolve every eligibility issue.
That gap between a court ruling and actual implementation became critical as September 30 approached.
What Did the Court Order in Medani v. Trump?
The August 28 order temporarily vacated challenged processing restrictions and required ordinary adjudication to resume. It did not guarantee approval of every DV application.
On September 30, Judge Edward J. Davila granted supplemental relief after finding problems with the State Department’s compliance. The order directed DOS, to the extent practicable and in good faith, to take reasonable steps for ten additional days beyond the fiscal year to reconsider specified pause-based refusals and resume ordinary adjudication of pending applications.
This was an enforcement remedy addressing noncompliance—not a general amendment extending the federal fiscal year. The supplemental relief targeted DOS; the order noted that plaintiffs reported USCIS had diligently complied with the earlier injunction.
Readers can review the September 30 supplemental order in Medani v. Trump.
Calling the remedy “ten more days for everyone to get a green card” would therefore be misleading. Its application depends on the court orders, the agency involved, and the individual case.
Why Were the Additional Ten Days Stayed?
Class counsel reported that the court granted a temporary stay of implementation. Counsel’s website initially described an anticipated October 11–20 processing period.
The government’s explanation involved a practical barrier: its systems ordinarily prevent diversity visa adjudication and issuance after the relevant fiscal year ends.
In the October 7 status report excerpt shared by class counsel, DOS reported that it had tested and finalized a technical solution. It was still preparing instructions for embassies and consulates and had not yet resumed scheduling.
On October 9, class counsel reported a further issue concerning implementation around the weekend and the October 12 federal holiday, with a clarification motion expected. Applicants should therefore treat projected dates as subject to further clarification, rather than guaranteed appointments or issuance dates.
What Does the Government’s Systems Update Actually Mean?
The government’s statement describes progress, but it does not establish that processing had already restarted.
There are several distinct steps:
- Completing and testing the technical solution.
- Deploying that solution.
- Issuing operating instructions to consular posts.
- Resuming scheduling, interviews, and adjudications.
- Issuing visas to applicants found eligible.
The court-file excerpt states that scheduling would resume after deployment and release of the guidance. It does not say that every affected applicant had been scheduled or that every consulate was ready to issue visas.
For families waiting abroad, this distinction is painfully important. A technical fix can make processing possible, but applicants still need action on their individual cases.
Should DV-2026 Selectees Give Up Because September 30 Passed?
Do not assume your case is over solely because a general information page lists September 30, 2026. Equally, do not assume that the litigation guarantees your visa.
September 30 was the ordinary DV-2026 deadline, as reflected in the State Department’s Diversity Visa instructions. The subsequent court proceedings make a blanket statement that “no further processing is possible” incomplete for affected applicants.
Your next step should begin with identifying exactly where your case stands.
Have you already been interviewed? Was your application refused because of a challenged pause, or for another reason? Did the consulate request documents? Is your passport at the embassy? Were you pursuing consular processing or adjustment of status through USCIS?
These facts matter more than a general headline.
Keep your selection notice, DS-260 confirmation, interview notices, refusal sheets, document requests, and consular correspondence together. A lawyer reviewing your options needs the actual record.
What Should DV-2026 Applicants Do Now?
Monitor official communications closely. Check your email, including spam folders, and the applicable government status systems. Follow current case updates through your attorney or Medani class counsel.
Prepare to respond promptly to a legitimate consular request, but do not interpret an anticipated processing window as permission to appear without an appointment.
Preserve evidence of cancelled interviews, unanswered document submissions, and communications explaining why your case was not processed. Make a dated chronology rather than relying on memory.
Most importantly, distinguish between a pending application, a refusal, and an issued visa. Those situations call for different responses. Class counsel likewise advises applicants to watch the official Entrant Status Check and embassy communications for scheduling developments.
Is There Really a New $1 DV Lottery Registration Fee?
Yes. A September 2025 final rule established a $1 electronic registration fee, separate from the later diversity immigrant visa application fee.
The rule lists September 16, 2025, as its effective date and separately states an implementation intention of 30 days after publication. It is therefore more precise to describe it as the September 2025 fee rule than to say simply that it “took effect in October.”
However, creating a fee does not open registration.
Also, a private professional charging for assistance is not automatically committing fraud. The important questions are whether the service is accurately described and whether the provider falsely claims official access, guaranteed selection, or the ability to submit an entry while registration is closed.
Are There New Passport Requirements?
Yes. Another important development missing from many older Green Card Lottery guides is the final rule effective April 10, 2026.
It generally requires entrants to provide information from a valid, unexpired passport and upload a scan of the passport’s biographic and signature page, subject to limited exemptions. Applicants should review the eventual program instructions for the required submission procedure.
This is why copying an old lottery checklist can be risky. Advice written for a previous program may omit requirements that now matter.
How Can You Avoid Green Card Lottery Scams?
Use the official Electronic Diversity Visa website and State Department instructions.
Official entries must be submitted electronically during the announced registration period. Multiple entries for the same person during a registration period can lead to disqualification.
Be skeptical of anyone claiming:
- “DV-2027 registration is open through our private portal.”
- “We can guarantee your selection.”
- “We have special access before the public opening.”
- “The court guaranteed visas for every winner.”
Check selection through the official Entrant Status Check using your confirmation information. A message demanding payment should never replace verification through the government’s own process.
Your Immigration Plans Deserve More Than Waiting for an Announcement
For prospective entrants, the uncertainty means another postponed opportunity. For DV-2026 selectees, it can mean a future placed on hold after months of preparation and expense.
Neither group benefits from exaggerated promises—or from an outdated statement that every remaining option has disappeared.
At the Law Office of Alena Shautsova, we help clients evaluate their immigration history, understand their procedural position, and consider available strategies. A meaningful consultation starts with your documents and circumstances, including whether another immigration pathway may be available.
If you need a New York immigration lawyer to review your Diversity Visa situation or broader immigration options, schedule a consultation.
Law Office of Alena Shautsova
Call: 917-885-2261
Website: shautsova.com
Office: 159 Broadway, Amityville, NY 11701
This article provides general information as of October 10, 2026. Court orders and implementation instructions may change. Individual eligibility and available remedies require case-specific review.
