The Trump administration won a key immigration court ruling Thursday when the Ninth Circuit blocked an order that would have forced the State Department to reopen registration for the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery. A three-judge panel granted the administration’s emergency request to stay a preliminary injunction issued earlier this month by U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta.
The Lower Court Order and Its Deadlines
Ohta’s injunction would have required the State Department to announce registration details by Oct. 29 and begin accepting applications for the fiscal 2027 lottery by Nov. 1. The order also directed the department to notify selected applicants by Dec. 3, setting an accelerated schedule for restarting a program that had gone dormant. With the stay in place, the department does not have to reopen registration while the government’s appeal moves forward.
The Diversity Visa Program makes up to 55,000 immigrant visas available each year to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. The dispute arose after the State Department did not open registration for fiscal 2027, effectively leaving the program inactive. Red Eagle Law, an immigration firm that represents Diversity Visa clients, sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the federal government in August.
The firm argued the administration unlawfully withheld required agency action and violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to implement the program. Ohta sided with Red Eagle at the preliminary stage and ordered the administration to move forward with the lottery, despite the government’s continued objections.
Appeals Court Questions the Firm’s Legal Claim
The Ninth Circuit concluded that the administration had shown a strong likelihood of prevailing because Red Eagle itself may not have a valid legal claim. The court noted that the firm was the sole plaintiff and had not joined any prospective Diversity Visa applicants to the suit.
Instead, the firm argued that suspending the lottery harmed its business, since selected immigrants frequently hire attorneys to navigate the visa process. The panel found that the firm’s commercial interests were not sufficiently connected to the interests Congress intended to protect when it created the program.
“We do not endorse the Department’s failure to open the lottery registration period,” the court wrote while explaining the limited basis for its decision.
The majority nevertheless determined that Red Eagle had not shown a likelihood of success because its interests fell outside the statute’s protected “zone of interests.”
A Separate Concurrence Raises Constitutional Standing
Circuit Judge N. Randy Smith went further in a separate concurrence, concluding that Red Eagle also lacked constitutional standing to bring the lawsuit. Smith warned that accepting the firm’s theory of injury could dramatically expand the circumstances in which lawyers could challenge government policies affecting potential future clients. He said doing so could open the “floodgates” and allow attorneys to “roam the country in search of governmental wrongdoing.”
A Bipartisan Panel, but Limited Scope
The ruling is notable because two members of the three-judge panel were appointed by Democratic presidents. Judge M. Margaret McKeown was appointed by President Bill Clinton, and Judge Holly Thomas was appointed by President Joe Biden. Smith, who wrote separately to question Red Eagle’s Article III standing, was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush.
The decision does not determine whether the Trump administration lawfully suspended the Diversity Visa lottery, nor does it permanently end the program. It temporarily lifts the lower court mandate requiring the State Department to restart registration immediately while the underlying appeal continues. The appellate court itself acknowledged that the State Department’s failure to launch the fiscal 2027 program effectively canceled this year’s lottery.
Challengers Signal More Litigation
Red Eagle attorney Curtis Morrison has indicated that the challengers intend to keep litigating and could bring another case involving an actual prospective Diversity Visa applicant. Such a lawsuit could raise different standing questions, since an eligible immigrant seeking entry into the lottery would have a more direct interest in the program than a law firm.
For now, the Ninth Circuit’s emergency stay keeps the fiscal 2027 registration process inactive and eliminates the Nov. 1 reopening deadline set by Ohta. The ruling gives the Trump administration immediate relief while leaving the broader legal battle over the future of the Diversity Visa Program unresolved.
