The order gives some diversity visa applicants more time, but rejects a request to save about 40,000 unused visas
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal judge has ordered the State Department to keep processing fiscal year 2026 diversity visa applications for 10 days after the program’s Sept. 30 deadline. The judge found that the department’s delays in following his earlier order cut into applicants’ chances of receiving visas.
In a 10-page order issued Sept. 30, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila of the Northern District of California wrote that the department’s compliance with his Aug. 28 preliminary injunction “has been less than substantial.” He said the department’s lack of diligence in carrying out that order was “of exceptional significance.” The ruling partially granted an emergency motion filed by applicants in Medani v. Trump, Case No. 5:26-cv-06332.
What the order requires
The State Department must, “to the extent practicable and in good faith,” take all reasonable steps for 10 more days to reconsider DV-2026 applications that were refused solely because of two department policies, the DV pause and the 75-country pause. It must also resume ordinary processing of applications that are still pending. The 10-day period matches the time the department took to tell its embassies and consulates to comply with the August injunction.
If the department needs time to prepare guidance for its posts, it must ask the court for a temporary stay rather than simply delaying. The judge also said he expects the department to inform him promptly of any problems that could affect compliance.
The department must continue filing status reports by noon Pacific time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until the extra period ends. Davila scheduled a status conference for Oct. 15 at 10 a.m.
Why the judge acted
The order describes a series of delays. After the Aug. 28 injunction, the State Department didn’t schedule a single interview or issue a single diversity visa for almost two weeks, according to the order. The plaintiffs showed that consulates were canceling interviews that had already been scheduled. They also submitted a Sept. 1 email from a consular office in Taiwan telling an applicant that processing remained paused because the DV-2026 program was still suspended.
The department said it needed that time to prepare guidance for its posts. It sent the guidance on the morning of a Sept. 10 court hearing. Davila wrote that the department should have asked for a stay or at least informed the court about the delay, rather than staying silent until the applicants raised it.
Processing remained slow after that. From Sept. 10 to Sept. 21, the department processed about 83 diversity visa cases a day worldwide, compared with about 230 a day in September 2025, according to the order. The department said many posts couldn’t resume immigrant visa processing until staff completed a new training program on public charge rules. Davila noted that the court again learned about the training requirement only after the applicants raised it.
After a second hearing on Sept. 21, processing increased sharply. According to the department’s status reports cited in the order, it issued 2,026 diversity visas and refused 1,788 between the injunction and Sept. 28. Most of the visas were issued in the last week of that period.
What the judge rejected
Davila turned down the applicants’ main request, which was to reserve all unused DV-2026 visas, estimated at about 40,000, for issuance after the fiscal year. He called that remedy overly broad and not connected to the specific noncompliance in the case. He pointed to a 2024 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Goodluck v. Biden, which overturned a similar order to reserve visas.
Davila wrote that the ruling in Goodluck left room for courts to act when the government fails to comply with an injunction issued on time. He said his order is based on the court’s inherent authority to enforce its own orders. He also emphasized that he wasn’t imposing contempt sanctions. If courts had no way to require compliance after the deadline, he wrote, the judiciary would be left “at the whims of another branch of government.”
It isn’t yet clear whether the government will appeal.
What this means for DV-2026 applicants
The order doesn’t guarantee anyone a visa. It requires the State Department to keep processing cases in good faith for 10 more days, which would run through about Oct. 10. Each applicant must still meet all eligibility and security requirements.
The order applies to State Department processing, which covers applicants going through embassies and consulates abroad. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which processes applicants already in the United States, wasn’t part of this motion. The order says the plaintiffs told the court that USCIS had followed the earlier injunction diligently.
Davila also clarified who is covered. He wrote that the groups of applicants certified in the case include all DV-2026 applicants affected by the policies.
Applicants refused only because of the pause policies, and those whose cases are still pending, should check their case status and watch for messages from their embassy or consulate. They should also be ready to attend an interview with little notice. Anyone unsure whether their case is covered should consult an immigration attorney.
What happens to a refused applicant’s visa number
A refusal doesn’t use up a visa number, because numbers are counted only when visas are issued. A refused applicant’s number doesn’t go to anyone specific. It stays in the general pool, and other selectees can be issued visas from that pool until the fiscal year ends. Congress allows up to 55,000 diversity visas a year, but the order notes that the government isn’t required to issue all of them. Visas not issued by the deadline expire and don’t carry over to the next year, which is why the deadline matters so much to applicants.
This report is based on the court’s Sept. 30 order in Medani v. Trump, Case No. 5:26-cv-06332. Read our earlier coverage: Diversity Visa Deadline Arrives With Thousands Still Waiting.
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