The U.S. State Department will not immediately remove the case records of the 2020 and 2021 Diversity Visa (DV) Programs. The Department has clarified that it will continue to preserve case records related to the DV-2020 and DV-2021 programs until the litigation has concluded. On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed the district courts’ decisions in Gomez v. Biden, Rai v. Biden, Goodluck v. Biden, and Goh v. Biden. These decisions had ordered the State Department to reserve and adjudicate DV cases from the DV-2020 and DV-2021 program years.
The decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit states: “Once Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 ended, the plaintiffs lost their eligibility for diversity visas. The district courts erred in asserting an equitable authority to override these clear statutory deadlines, which foreclose the prospective relief sought in these cases. Accordingly, we reverse the remedial orders challenged by the government, reject the Goh cross-appeal, and remand the cases with instructions to enter judgment for the government.”
Following the court’s decision, the U.S. Department of State has made it clear that it will not process DV cases associated with the aforementioned district court decisions from the DV-2020 or DV-2021 program years. Impacted individuals from an eligible country who wish to submit a new DV entry may do so during the registration period for the DV-2026 program year, which will open in October 2024 and close in early November 2024.
Timeline of Court Decisions:
On August 17, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Gomez v. Biden ordered the State Department to “process DV-2020 applications in random order until all 9,095 diversity visas have been granted.”
On October 13, 2021, the Court ordered the Department to “commence processing the 9,095 DV-2020 visas as soon as feasible and conclude such processing no later than the end of Fiscal Year 2022, or September 30, 2022.”
On April 5, 2022, the court extended the stay until the appeals court announces its decisions.
On September 27, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Rai v. Biden ordered the Department of State to “reserve 966 diversity visa numbers for applicants awaiting adjudication at the twenty-seven embassies and posts previously subject to Proclamations 9984 and 10143 and Defendants’ regional No-Visa Policy.”
On October 20, 2021, the Court ordered the Department to “begin processing and adjudicating the 966 reserved fiscal year 2021 diversity visa applications as soon as reasonably feasible. Defendants shall complete the processing and adjudication of those 966 applications by the end of fiscal year 2022.”
On April 6, 2022, the Court stayed the order until the appeals court announces its decisions.
On September 30, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the Goodluck v. Biden-related matters ordered the Department of State to “reserve 6,914 diversity visas for adjudication pending final judgment in the Goodluck-related matters.”
On April 18, 2022, the court decided to stay the Goodluck litigation until the appeals court announces its decision.
On September 30, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Goh v. Biden ordered the Department of State to “make 481 diversity visas available for adjudication” and to “adjudicate those diversity visas by the close of Fiscal Year 2022.”
On April 6, 2022, the court extended the stay until the appeals court announces its decisions.
NepYork News Staff
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