DV-2027 and DV-2028 Green Card Lottery: Is Registration Open? Court Status and Next Steps

Status last checked: November 10, 2026, against Department of State notices and court records.

The DV-2027 Green Card Lottery is still closed. On October 29, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit paused a lower-court order that would have required the Department of State to open registration by November 1. November 1 passed without an entry period, and as of November 10, 2026, the Department has announced no new dates for DV-2027 or DV-2028.

This page tracks the current status, explains what the court rulings do and do not mean, and lists the steps that make sense while registration is closed. It is general educational information, not legal advice. If you need the basics of how the lottery normally works, start with our guide to applying for the Green Card Lottery.

Status at a glance

Registration, visa issuance, and the lawsuit are separate tracks. The December 2025 pause on issuing DV visas was lifted in August 2026, but that did not open a new registration period. The lawsuit is about whether the Department must open DV-2027 registration.

How we got here: timeline

1. September 16, 2025: The Department of State published a final rule adding a $1 electronic registration fee for Diversity Visa entries (90 FR 44524).
2. November 5, 2025: The Department announced changes to the DV-2027 entry process and postponed the entry period. It said the dates would be announced "as soon as practicable." This is why the usual October–November registration did not happen in 2025.
3. December 2025: In a separate step, after a Diversity Visa recipient was named as the suspect in shootings in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, the administration paused DV visa issuance at the Department of State and DV-based green card decisions at USCIS.
4. March 11, 2026: The Department published a final rule, "Enhancing Vetting and Combatting Fraud in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program". It requires entrants to provide valid passport details and upload a passport scan, with limited exceptions. It took effect April 10, 2026, starting with the DV-2027 entry period. Even so, no entry period was opened.
5. August 19, 2026: Red Eagle Law, L.C. sued Secretary of State Rubio in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, asking the court to make the Department open DV-2027 registration.
6. August 28, 2026: In another case, Medani v. Trump, a court ordered DV visa processing to resume. The Department said its December 2025 issuance pause was no longer in effect (National Law Review summary). This helped some DV-2026 cases, but the DV-2026 program still ended on September 30, 2026.
7. October 14, 2026: The district court issued a preliminary injunction in the Red Eagle case. It required the Department to announce DV-2027 entry dates by October 29, keep registration open for 30 days starting by November 1, and notify selected entrants by December 3, 2026 (National Law Review summary). The government appealed.
8. October 29, 2026: A Ninth Circuit panel granted the government's emergency motion for a stay pending appeal. The deadlines in the lower-court order are no longer binding for now.
9. November 1, 2026: No registration opened, and the Department has announced no replacement dates since.

What the Ninth Circuit stay means and what it doesn't

A stay freezes the lower court's order while the appeal is decided. In practice, the Department of State does not have to open DV-2027 on the schedule the district court set.

The stay is not a ruling that the government may lawfully end the Diversity Visa Program. In its order, the panel found the government likely to win because the plaintiff, an immigration law firm, is not within the "zone of interests" the Diversity Visa statute protects. In other words, the panel said the firm is probably not the right party to bring this case. A concurring opinion added that the firm also lacks Article III standing. The panel also wrote: "We do not endorse the Department's failure to open the lottery registration period."

The appeal itself is still pending. The plaintiff has said it will keep litigating, which could include asking the full Ninth Circuit or the Supreme Court to step in. Other challengers whose interests the statute does protect could also bring their own cases.

The Diversity Visa Program is created by statute (INA section 203(c)). Not opening a registration period is different from Congress repealing the program. Whether registration resumes, and when, depends on the courts, the administration, or Congress.

What about DV-2028?

In past years the State Department usually opened registration in early October and closed it in early November, about two years before the visa year. DV-2028 would normally have followed that pattern in autumn 2026. It has not: the Department has published no DV-2028 instructions or dates, and the official entry site is not accepting entries.

Some websites list specific DV-2028 dates. Unless the dates appear on dvprogram.state.gov or travel.state.gov, treat them as guesses. If registration resumes, the Department could open DV-2027, DV-2028, or a revised entry period, and the instructions may change. Wait for the official instructions before preparing an entry.

How to avoid DV lottery scams while registration is closed

The official entry process has changed, and scammers use that confusion. Know what the real process looks like:

• Official: when an entry period is open, you register on dvprogram.state.gov, pay the $1 electronic registration fee there, and provide passport information and a passport scan unless an exception applies.
• Not official: anyone offering to "enter you now" for DV-2027 or DV-2028. No valid entry can be submitted while registration is closed.
• Not official: fees above the $1 government fee for "registration," "priority processing," or a "guaranteed" spot. No one can raise your odds.
• Not official: requests for passport scans, bank details, or wire transfers from a website, agent, or social-media account other than the official entry form.
• Emails saying you won. The Department of State does not tell entrants by email that they were selected. Results appear only in Entrant Status Check on dvprogram.state.gov.
• Look-alike domains. Check that the address ends in .gov before entering any personal information.

If you were targeted, you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission.

What you can do now

1. Check official sources only. Bookmark dvprogram.state.gov and the Department of State's Diversity Visa page. We will update this article when the status changes.
2. Make sure your passport is valid. Under the March 2026 rule, entrants generally need valid passport details and a scan to register. Proof that you meet the education or work-experience requirement is also worth gathering, and our article on photo guidelines covers a common reason entries are disqualified.
3. If you had a DV-2026 case, confirm its final outcome through the official channels. A DV-2026 selection cannot be used after September 30, 2026. See what the DV-2026 deadline means.
4. Look at other immigration paths that may fit your situation, such as family sponsorship, employment-based green cards, or student and work visas. Our guides on reading the Visa Bulletin and sponsoring a relative are good starting points.
5. Get qualified advice if your current status, a pending application, or travel plans depend on the Diversity Visa Program.

Bottom line

As of November 10, 2026, you cannot enter the Green Card Lottery for DV-2027 or DV-2028. DV-2027 registration has not opened, a court order to open it is stayed while the government appeals, and no official dates exist for either year. Ignore anyone selling entries, follow the Department of State's official DV pages, and check back here. We will update this guide when the courts or the Department act.