Immigration Firm Sues Marco Rubio over Delayed DV-2027 Green Card Lottery
Exterior of the U.S. Department of State Harry S. Truman Building, Washington, D.C.(Official State Department photo by Linda D. Epstein)
A California immigration law firm filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to compel Secretary of State Marco Rubio to open registration for the 2027 Diversity Visa Program, arguing that the State Department’s continued inaction threatens to prevent the congressionally mandated program from being carried out.
The lawsuit comes as the State Department has still not announced DV-2027 registration dates, despite the program’s customary fall registration period having passed and the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. The delay has left prospective applicants worldwide — including large numbers in Nepal — uncertain about whether and when they will be able to enter the green card lottery.
Red Eagle Law, L.C., filed the complaint Aug. 19 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The case, Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Rubio, is assigned case number 3:26-cv-04738-JO-VET. U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta and U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie E. Torres have been assigned to the case. A summons was issued the same day.
The law firm is asking the court to declare unlawful Rubio’s alleged failure to implement the Diversity Visa Program for fiscal year 2027 and to order the State Department to establish a registration period of at least 30 days in September.
Attorney Curtis Morrison of Red Eagle Law said he plans to file an ex parte application Friday for a temporary restraining order seeking urgent court intervention.
Delay deepens uncertainty
The Diversity Visa Program, commonly known as the green card lottery, makes up to 55,000 immigrant visas available each year to people from countries with historically low levels of immigration to the United States. Applicants are selected randomly, and those who qualify may apply for immigrant visas and become lawful permanent residents.
The program has historically opened for online registration in October or November of the year preceding the visa year. But the State Department has not announced an entry period for DV-2027.
In a Nov. 5, 2025, notice, the State Department said it was implementing changes to the diversity visa entry process and would announce the start date for the DV-2027 registration period and the date selection results would be available “as soon as practicable.” The department said the visa application period for people selected in the program would remain Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027.
As of Aug. 19, the registration period had not been announced. Red Eagle Law argues that only about six weeks remain in fiscal year 2026, making it increasingly difficult to establish the legally required 30-day registration period before the new fiscal year begins.
“The law requires a 30-day entry period to take place within the prior fiscal year,” Morrison said in a statement announcing the filing. “There are only 42 days in the fiscal year, and no entry period has been announced.”
State Department response
The State Department has not publicly offered a detailed explanation for the delayed entry period.
A State Department spokesperson told NepYork that the Trump administration is “protecting our nation and its citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process.” The spokesperson said updates or changes to the visa process would be posted on the department’s official news page.
Under Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the State Department must provide a period of at least 30 days each fiscal year for foreign nationals to submit an entry for consideration under the Diversity Visa Program.
The lawsuit also cites the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual, which says the department must establish a registration period of at least 30 days each year for people to submit entries for random selection. The agency generally publishes the dates in a Federal Register notice.
The lawsuit alleges that Rubio’s failure to open DV-2027 registration violates the Administrative Procedure Act and is ultra vires, or beyond the secretary’s lawful authority.
The State Department did not immediately provide a response in the court filings. The allegations in the complaint have not been tested in court.
New rules for applicants
The delayed registration comes amid changes to the diversity visa entry process.
A State Department rule that took effect April 10 requires DV applicants to provide valid passport information when submitting entries for DV-2027. Applicants must provide their passport number, name, country of issuance and expiration date, and upload scanned copies of their passport’s biographic and signature pages.
The department said the requirement is intended to reduce fraud and ensure that entries are submitted by genuine applicants. It said more than 2.5 million fraudulent or duplicate entries were identified during the DV-2025 cycle, including third-party registration schemes in which agents allegedly submitted entries without applicants’ knowledge and later demanded money or fraudulent marriages from people who were selected.
A new $1 DV registration fee also took effect after publication in the Federal Register in September 2025. The State Department estimated the fee would generate about $25 million a year. Previously, applicants did not pay a fee to enter the lottery but paid a $330 visa-processing fee if selected.
Concerns for Nepali applicants
The continued delay has created particular uncertainty in Nepal, one of the countries with the highest numbers of Diversity Visa entrants.
State Department statistics show that more than 1 million Nepalis entered the DV lottery in both the DV-2019 and DV-2020 cycles. Participation declined to 688,502 in DV-2021 after a passport-information requirement was introduced for that cycle.
The new $1 registration fee has also raised payment concerns in Nepal, where many standard bank cards cannot be used for international online transactions. Applicants may need to obtain a dollar card or use another method that works through an international payment gateway.
Many Nepali applicants rely on photo studios and other service providers for assistance with required photographs and online forms. Operators say they remain uncertain about how registration fees will be processed once the entry period opens.
Visa freeze and requested relief
The legal fight over DV-2027 is unfolding while diversity visa issuance remains suspended. The complaint cites an April 2026 State Department announcement stating that the Trump administration had suspended the issuance of new diversity visas.
Red Eagle Law contends that the secretary lacks statutory authority to suspend or decline to implement an annual program established by Congress under the Immigration Act of 1990.
The firm says it has represented several hundred diversity visa selectees from fiscal years 2023 through 2026 and would suffer economic harm if the 2027 program is not implemented.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare unlawful the alleged failure to implement DV-2027; order Rubio and the State Department to establish a registration period lasting at least 30 days in September; retain jurisdiction to monitor compliance; and award attorney fees and litigation costs.
A summons issued Wednesday directs the federal government to respond within the applicable federal deadline after service.