US Court Blocks Order to Reopen 2027 Diversity Visa Lottery for Africans
- A federal appeals court granted an emergency stay on October 29, suspending a lower court order that would have forced the US State Department to reopen the 2027 Green Card Lottery
- The court found that the law firm which sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio had not shown its commercial interests were tied to the lottery's core purpose
- Tens of thousands of African applicants now face uncertainty over whether the 2027 Diversity Visa registration window will open at all
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Washington, USA - African hopefuls seeking a path to permanent US residency through the Green Card Lottery have been thrown into fresh uncertainty after a federal appeals court put a hold on an order that would have forced the government to reopen the 2027 Diversity Visa programme.
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted an emergency stay on Thursday, October 29, suspending a lower court ruling that had directed the State Department to publish registration details by that same date and open the application window by Sunday, November 1.
Source: Facebook
Why the 2027 lottery has not opened
The dispute began when the State Department failed to launch registration for the 2027 cycle. Immigration law firm Red Eagle Law filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Marco Rubio in August, arguing that the department's silence on application dates amounted to an effective cancellation of the programme.
US District Judge Jinsook Ohta sided with the firm on October 14, issuing a preliminary injunction that ordered the department to announce registration dates, open applications, and notify selected entrants by December 3. The government challenged that ruling, prompting the Ninth Circuit to suspend it while the appeal proceeds.
In its decision, the appeals court said Red Eagle Law had not shown that its financial interest in representing lottery winners was sufficiently linked to the programme's stated goal of promoting immigration from countries that are historically underrepresented in the United States. The judges made clear, however, that their ruling was not an endorsement of the State Department's failure to open the programme.
What the diversity visa programme offers
The Diversity Visa Lottery, created to encourage immigration outside the usual family and employment channels, makes 55,000 immigrant visas available each year. African countries have consistently accounted for a large share of successful applicants, making the programme one of the most accessible legal routes to US permanent residency for people on the continent.
Around 100,000 people are typically selected through the draw to begin the visa application process, though selection alone does not guarantee a visa. Successful entrants must still meet education or work experience requirements and clear immigration checks before a visa is issued.
With the reopening order now suspended, prospective applicants from Africa and elsewhere have no confirmed registration date and must wait for the appeal to run its course before knowing whether the 2027 lottery window will open at all.
US court gives verdict on motion against Tinubu
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a US court rejected a bid to compel Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and lobbying firm DCI Group to participate in discovery proceedings tied to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in Washington, D.C.
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued the ruling in litigation brought by Aaron Greenspan against the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Source: Legit.ng
