In a ruling that could determine the fate of thousands of immigration lottery winners, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila of the Northern District of California on August 28, 2026, temporarily vacated the USCIS hold policy that had frozen Diversity Visa adjustment of status applications for over eight months — and ordered the government to resume processing before the fast-approaching fiscal year deadline.
The Ruling: Medani v. Trump
The court 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 USCIS to resume ordinary adjudication for affected applicants where practicable.
At the center of the decision is USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193.
The memorandum directed USCIS personnel to place a hold on all pending adjustment of status, ancillary benefits, and associated waiver applications for noncitizens applying for adjustment of status under the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program, and to conduct a comprehensive review of all policies, procedures, and screening and vetting processes.
The court temporarily vacated PM-602-0193 pending further litigation and ordered 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 policy memorandum.
The order also vacated a USCIS policy that indefinitely paused final decisions on pending adjustment-of-status applications from Diversity Visa selectees already in the United States, as well as the State Department's pause on issuing Diversity Visas and its separate immigrant-visa approval pause affecting nationals of 75 countries.
Class Certification Extends Relief Nationwide
Critically, Judge Davila's order extends well beyond the named plaintiffs.
The court granted in part the plaintiffs' motion for class certification, certifying a subclass of "all selectees and derivative beneficiaries under the FY-2026 Diversity Visa Program who are subject to the USCIS DV Hold imposed by Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193."
Rather than creating one class covering every affected applicant, Judge Davila certified three separate nationwide subclasses.
This means relief is not limited to the specific families who brought the lawsuit — it applies across the board to DV-2026 selectees affected by the hold.
Background: An Eight-Month Freeze
The lawsuit was filed on June 24, 2026, brought by 664 Diversity Visa selectee families representing 1,489 plaintiffs, and challenged the administration's blanket suspension of the DV program.
The freeze was implemented in stages.
The first measure, known as the USCIS DV Hold, was enacted through a December 19, 2025 policy memorandum. It placed an indefinite pause on all pending adjustment of status applications, related benefits and waivers for diversity visa applicants residing in the United States.
Days later, on December 23, 2025, the State Department issued a global directive pausing all diversity visa issuances with "no exceptions." The policy was expanded February 2, 2026, with a "75-country freeze," halting immigrant visa processing for nationals of countries the administration labeled as high risk for reliance on public benefits.
The court held the policies are final agency action despite their "temporary" framing and that plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claims because the agencies offered no reasoned explanation for categorical suspensions, considered no alternatives, and ignored reliance interests.
USCIS Response
USCIS has publicly acknowledged the court's directive.
USCIS confirmed the order in an alert dated September 4, 2026, adding that it "strongly disagrees with the Court's order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review."
The agency maintained that the policy memorandum was issued to ensure that all aliens applying for adjustment of status under the DV Program in the United States do not pose a threat to national security or public safety.
The Department of State has also moved to comply.
DOS updated its public guidance announcing 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." DV applicants may now continue to apply, attend interviews, and receive immigrant visas if otherwise eligible.
The September 30 Deadline: A Race Against Time
The urgency of this ruling cannot be overstated.
In its ruling, the court emphasized the unusually time-sensitive nature of the DV program, noting that a selectee generally must receive the visa by September 30 of the relevant fiscal year or lose eligibility, and that delay may have consequences that cannot be cured simply by allowing an application to remain pending.
The same deadline applies to derivative spouses and children. The September Visa Bulletin warns that all available DV numbers may be exhausted even before September 30.
Judge Davila ordered the parties to submit a joint status report by September 18 regarding the status of adjudications and to propose a schedule for continued litigation.
Since then,
Judge Davila has ordered the U.S. Department of State to provide three updates per week on the status of diversity visa applications, saying he was "troubled" by the lack of progress since he ordered adjudications to be resumed.
The State Department specifically instructed posts to prioritize DV-2026 applicants whose interviews had originally been scheduled between August 23 and September 30 but were later rescheduled. Embassies and consulates must contact those applicants with interview instructions and information about the documents they need to provide.
Practical Implications for Affected Applicants
With the policy now temporarily set aside, USCIS is required to process those applications under the standard adjudication framework that existed before PM-602-0193 was issued.
However, the ruling has important limitations applicants should understand:
- No automatic approvals.
- Standard grounds of inadmissibility still apply.
- The vacatur is temporary.
- Contact your embassy or USCIS.
What Comes Next
The case remains active, and the court's order applies only for the duration of the current Diversity Visa fiscal year while further litigation proceeds.
The government could seek an appeal or an emergency stay from the Ninth Circuit, though any such action would unfold against the backdrop of the immovable September 30 deadline.
The Medani ruling follows a broader pattern of federal courts pushing back against the administration's immigration pauses.
On August 21, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District vacated DOS's January 2026 categorical pause on immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries.
For DV-2026 selectees, the message is clear: the legal door has reopened, but the window is narrow. With only days remaining before the fiscal year closes, applicants should ensure their cases are document-ready, respond immediately to any government communications, and consult with an experienced immigration attorney to maximize their chances of completing the process before the deadline.
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you are a DV-2026 selectee affected by this ruling, contact a qualified immigration attorney to discuss your specific situation.