In a decision with sweeping implications for tens of thousands of Diversity Visa selectees,
a federal judge temporarily set aside three Trump administration policies that had halted or blocked the processing of fiscal year 2026 Diversity Visa applications, ordering the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to resume ordinary adjudication for affected applicants where practicable.
U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila of the Northern District of California also certified three nationwide subclasses of Diversity Visa selectees and their eligible family members in Medani v. Trump, extending the preliminary relief beyond the individual plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit.
What the Court Ordered
On August 28, 2026, the court issued an order temporarily vacating PM-602-0193 pending further litigation, directing USCIS "to the extent practicable and in good faith, to take all reasonable steps during the remainder of the Diversity Visa fiscal year to resume ordinary adjudication of plaintiffs' pending adjustment of status applications without applying" the memo.
The ruling went further than addressing just the USCIS hold.
The order temporarily vacated a USCIS policy that indefinitely paused final decisions on pending adjustment-of-status applications from Diversity Visa selectees already in the United States. It also vacated the State Department's pause on issuing Diversity Visas and its separate immigrant-visa approval pause affecting nationals of 75 countries.
Judge Davila found that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their claim that the policies were arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.
The court held the policies constitute final agency action despite their "temporary" framing, and that plaintiffs are likely to succeed because the agencies offered no reasoned explanation for the categorical freezes.
Three Nationwide Subclasses
Rather than certifying a single class,
Davila certified three separate nationwide subclasses: the first includes FY-2026 Diversity Visa selectees and derivative beneficiaries subject to the USCIS hold; the second covers applicants subject to the State Department's Diversity Visa issuance pause.
The third subclass encompasses applicants affected by the State Department's 75-country immigrant-visa pause.
The lawsuit, filed on June 24, 2026, was brought by 664 Diversity Visa selectee families representing 1,489 plaintiffs who challenged the administration's blanket suspension of the DV program. The plaintiffs sought to compel federal agencies to resume processing and final adjudications before the statutory deadline of midnight September 30, 2026.
Background: A Program Frozen Since December 2025
The Diversity Visa crisis traces back to late 2025, when two parallel freezes effectively shut down the DV-2026 program.
The first came from USCIS on December 19, 2025. Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193 instructed agency personnel to place an indefinite hold on pending diversity-based adjustment applications, citing a need to "fully assess all national, criminal, and related grounds of inadmissibility." That hold affected applicants seeking adjustment through Form I-485.
The second measure followed four days later. On December 23, 2025, the Department of State paused diversity visa issuance worldwide, with "no exceptions." The department said the review would examine screening and vetting procedures.
For context,
the DV program currently makes 50,000 visas available annually to natives of countries from which immigrant admissions were less than 50,000 over the preceding five years combined, with the purpose of fostering legal immigration from underrepresented countries.
The DV Program does not require a family sponsor or an employer, making it often the only realistic route for individuals without family ties or employer sponsorship in the United States.
Government Response: Compliance Under Protest
USCIS stated that it "strongly disagrees with the Court's order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review."
The vacatur is temporary and expressly pending further litigation, so it can still be appealed, stayed, or reversed.
On the State Department's side, the response was swift.
The agency confirmed that "as of August 28, 2026, in accordance with the Court's order in Medani et al. v. Trump et al., the December 2025 pause of diversity visa issuance is no longer in effect."
Existing Diversity Visa appointments generally remain valid.
Davila instructed both sides to submit a joint status report by September 18 regarding the status of adjudications and to propose a schedule for continued litigation.
The September 30 Deadline: A Race Against the Clock
While the legal victory is significant, the practical reality is sobering.
Diversity visa numbers and DV-2026 eligibility expire on September 30, 2026, by statute — a district judge cannot manufacture more time. That leaves a compressed window between a late-August order and a hard end-of-September cutoff.
Secondary reporting citing State Department data has put the figure at roughly 53,939 prospective applicants across 48 African countries, with Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Ghana the nationalities most often named.
The practical effect of the order was to unfreeze machinery, not to guarantee visas.
A department can lift a policy suspension while individual posts still face appointment backlogs, staffing limits, administrative processing queues, and security-review requirements that slow issuance to a fraction of theoretical capacity.
What DV-2026 Applicants Should Know
For applicants currently in the United States with pending I-485 applications, the court's order means USCIS must now resume standard adjudication procedures — without applying the PM-602-0193 hold — for the remainder of the fiscal year.
With the policy temporarily suspended, USCIS must handle those petitions under the standard adjudication framework that existed before PM-602-0193 was announced.
For applicants abroad processing through U.S. consulates,
the State Department's updated guidance says the blanket pause on Diversity Visa issuance is no longer in effect, although applicants must still meet all eligibility and processing requirements.
Critically,
the litigation continues, the preliminary relief is not a final merits judgment, and government appeals or additional motions may follow.
Applicants should monitor their case status closely, ensure all documentation is complete and up to date, and consult with an immigration attorney to maximize their chances within the remaining days of the fiscal year.
The Broader Legal Landscape
The Medani ruling is one of several recent judicial actions pushing back against the administration's immigration holds.
On August 24, 2026, the same court certified a class and preliminarily enjoined two other USCIS policy memoranda — PM-602-0192 and PM-602-0194 — in Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Edlow, No. 26-cv-04850-CRB. Those memos had directed USCIS to place certain applications on hold rather than decide them.
Together, these rulings represent a significant judicial check on the administration's approach to immigration adjudication holds — though both remain subject to further litigation and potential appellate review. With each passing day bringing DV-2026 applicants closer to the September 30 expiration, the urgency for swift government compliance cannot be overstated.
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. DV-2026 applicants should consult with a qualified immigration attorney regarding their specific circumstances.