The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has granted a request from Donald Trump’s administration and temporarily suspended the enforcement of an earlier court ruling that required applications for the DV-2027 Green Card programme to be opened.

As a result, the DV-2027 Green Card lottery is not expected to begin on 1 November 2026 as previously anticipated.

A three-judge panel comprising M. Margaret McKeown, N. Randy Smith and Holly A. Thomas granted the administration’s request to temporarily stay the previous ruling while its appeal is being considered.

What did the court decide?

In its order, the court noted that the US Department of State had not yet opened registration for the Green Card programme. It also stated that the “Red Eagle” party had failed to sufficiently demonstrate that its interests fell within the scope of protection provided by the relevant law and that it had the right to bring a claim under that law.

Accordingly, the administration’s emergency request to suspend enforcement of the previous ruling pending consideration of its appeal was granted. The court also indicated that deadlines would be set for submitting the documents required for the further proceedings.

What does this mean for those waiting for the DV-2027 programme?

The court’s latest decision means that the previous ruling requiring applications to open on 1 November will not be enforced for the time being.

At the same time, this does not mean that the DV-2027 Green Card lottery has been cancelled altogether. The question of when registration for the programme will begin remains unresolved.