Thousands of foreign nationals who won the diversity visa lottery face deportation or the loss of their legal pathway to the United States after Sept. 30, when federal law says the government’s obligation to process their applications expires.
At a Tuesday hearing in San Jose, California, attorneys for the visa applicants asked Senior U.S. District Judge Edward Davila to force the State Department to continue processing up to 40,000 unused diversity visas beyond the fiscal year deadline. The judge questioned whether he has legal authority to override the statutory cutoff date established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Government Policies Created the Backlog
The applicants are caught in limbo after successfully winning the diversity visa lottery for 2026. Judge Davila previously issued a preliminary injunction forcing the State Department to restart processing after finding the government had placed indefinite holds on green card applications and visa status adjustments. He also granted partial class certification for individuals whose diversity visas were frozen.
Attorney Curtis Morrison, representing the applicants, told the court his clients need emergency supplemental relief and argued U.S. consulates worldwide should continue adjudicating cases past the Sept. 30 deadline. The diversity visa program allocates 55,000 visas annually to nationals from countries with low immigration rates to the United States.
Judge Questions Legal Grounds for Extension
“Tell me the legal basis to extend the relief you are asking for,” Davila told Morrison during the hearing. The judge’s skepticism reflects the tension between his previous findings that the government acted improperly and the clear statutory language that ties diversity visa processing to the fiscal year.
The case puts thousands of would-be immigrants in an impossible position. They won their lottery slots fairly, but government processing delays—which Davila has already found problematic enough to warrant judicial intervention—now threaten to run out the clock on their legal right to immigrate.
The Sept. 30 deadline arrives as the government has 40,000 diversity visas still unissued for fiscal year 2026. Whether those visas represent genuine government mismanagement or simply the normal friction of bureaucratic processing could determine if a federal judge can force the State Department to work past its congressionally mandated deadline.
Key Points
- Federal judge previously found State Department improperly froze diversity visa applications but questions authority to extend processing past fiscal year deadline
- Up to 40,000 unused diversity visas for 2026 remain unprocessed as Sept. 30 statutory deadline arrives
- Applicants who won visa lottery fairly now face deportation or loss of legal status due to government processing delays judge already ruled improper
https://www.courthousenews.com/with-deadline-near-diversity-visa-applicants-ask-judge-for-extended-relief/ – September 30, 2026
