US Court Orders State Department to Open FY 2027 Visa Lottery

A US court has ordered the State Department to open registration for the Fiscal Year 2027 Diversity Visa lottery, according to immigration law firm Fragomen. The ruling settles, for now, the question of whether the programme would run at all.

The order directs the department to launch the entry period that millions of prospective applicants around the world wait for each year. Until the court acted, the opening of the FY 2027 registration window remained unresolved.

What does the ruling change?

The Diversity Visa lottery, known as the DV lottery, offers up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to nationals of countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Entrants submit an electronic form during a limited registration window, usually announced weeks in advance.

This time, the window did not open on its usual schedule. A court has now stepped in and ordered the State Department to begin accepting entries for FY 2027.

For prospective applicants, the practical effect is simple: the path to submit an entry exists again. Without the court's order, the FY 2027 lottery could have started late or not at all.

Who is affected?

The decision matters to two groups in particular:

• First-time and repeat entrants from eligible countries who were waiting for the registration period to open
• Family members of entrants, since a selected entry can open a route to permanent residence for the applicant, a spouse and unmarried children under 21

Eligibility rules themselves have not changed. Applicants still must come from qualifying countries and meet the education or work-experience requirement.

What should applicants do now?

Entrants should watch for the State Department to announce the official FY 2027 registration dates on the official DV lottery website. Entries are accepted only through that site, and only during the announced window.

Two habits protect applicants in every DV cycle:

• Submit early in the window, but double-check every field before sending
• Keep the confirmation number received after entry, because it is the only way to check results later

The court order addresses the opening of registration, not the downstream steps. Selection, visa interviews and issuance will follow the standard annual calendar once entries are in.

Why did a court have to act?

The lottery has faced repeated legal and political pressure in recent years, and this cycle was no exception. When the registration period failed to open on time, litigation followed, and the court's order now compels the department to run the FY 2027 programme.

Fragomen reports the ruling as a directive to open registration, which restores the normal rhythm of the programme for this cycle.

The takeaway

The FY 2027 Diversity Visa lottery will accept entries after a court ordered the State Department to open registration, and applicants should rely only on the official State Department site for dates and rules.