A US federal court has directed the State Department to move forward with the delayed DV‑2027 Diversity Visa Lottery, confirming that the overall visa‑issuance deadline of 30 September 2027 remains unchanged.

The court order requires the department to publish registration details by 29 October 2026, open the application window on 1 November, and announce the list of selected entrants by 3 December.

The ruling follows a lawsuit alleging the government’s failure to open registration for the DV‑2027 programme, after the State Department had indicated in late 2025 that it was reviewing possible changes but never set a start date.

A joint request by government lawyers and Red Eagle Law to modify an earlier injunction by US District Judge Jinsook Ohta was accepted, and the court replaced the previously set October‑November deadlines with the new schedule to give officials more implementation time.

The order also mandates that the State Department publish the registration dates and eligibility criteria through the Federal Register and the official Diversity Visa website, and to continue processing eligible cases under normal procedures until the annual allocation is exhausted or the September 2027 deadline is reached.

Applicants will still need to complete the standard post‑selection steps – filing the DS‑260 immigrant visa form, gathering supporting documents, undergoing a medical exam and attending a consular interview – which can be time‑consuming, especially where visa‑appointment demand is high.

Because the registration period is now compressed, successful entrants will have less time between selection and visa issuance, raising concerns that some may not complete the process before the fiscal‑year cut‑off.

The Diversity Immigrant Visa programme, established by Congress, allocates up to 55,000 visas each year to nationals of countries with low recent immigration to the United States, offering a path to permanent residency for those who do not qualify through family or employment channels.