The green card lottery normally opens every October. This year, DV-2027 still hasn’t opened. Newsweek reported this week that a federal judge could decide the program’s fate by October 14. If the government wins, DV-2027 disappears entirely. The next lottery would skip straight to DV-2028. Hopeful applicants have waited months with no registration window in sight.
Why DV-2027 Never Opened
The State Department normally opens registration each fall for the coming fiscal year. For DV-2027, that never happened. In November 2025, the agency announced that changes were coming to the entry process. Those changes included a new $1 registration fee and a requirement to submit valid passport information upfront. The agency promised a new registration date “at some later date.” Almost a year later, no date ever arrived. Clients asking our Green Card Lawyer team about lottery timing hear the same answer every month. Nothing is open yet.
The Lawsuit Trying to Force It Open
A California law firm sued over the delay. Red Eagle Law filed suit against Secretary of State Marco Rubio on August 19, 2026. The firm asked the court to order the State Department to open DV-2027 registration immediately. Judge Jinsook Ohta denied an emergency request for that relief in early September. She agreed to consider a full preliminary injunction instead. The court held a hearing on September 24, and a ruling is expected by October 14. Our Immigration Lawyer team is tracking this case closely, since the outcome affects anyone still hoping to register.
The Government’s Argument: It’s Already Too Late
The Justice Department isn’t defending the delay anymore. It’s arguing the delay already won the case for them. Government attorneys told the court that fiscal year 2027 has already begun. Any registration period that opens now would legally belong to fiscal year 2028, not 2027. Ordering the agency to open DV-2027 today would be a “literal impossibility,” the government argued. That argument effectively treats the 2027 cycle as already over, whether or not the judge says so directly.
What Happens If the Judge Agrees
Curtis Morrison, an immigration attorney watching the case, called this the program’s first de facto cancellation. No administration has ever let a full cycle lapse before. If Judge Ohta sides with the government, that’s exactly what happens here. Anyone who planned to register for DV-2027 gets nothing. The program’s next real chance becomes DV-2028, assuming the State Department opens that cycle on schedule. Nothing guarantees it will. The same registration delay could easily repeat itself next year.
What This Means If You Were Counting on DV-2027
Don’t wait on a DV-2027 registration date that may never come. If your immigration plans depended on the lottery, start looking at other paths now. Many applicants qualify for family-based or employment-based green cards without ever touching the lottery. Others may fit specific visa categories tied to their job, their degree, or their family ties. Our Green Card Lawyer team can walk through what’s actually available right now. We won’t ask you to wait on a window that might never open.
How Our Firm Can Help
A missed lottery cycle shouldn’t mean a missed decade. Our attorneys track every twist in this litigation and in DV program policy as it happens. We help clients build a real plan instead of waiting on a registration window that keeps slipping. Whether DV-2028 opens on time or faces the same fight, you deserve options you control. Book a consultation with our team today, and let us help you to find your best path forward.
