A federal appeals court has blocked a lower court order requiring the State Department to reopen registration for the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted the Trump administration's emergency request on Thursday, October 29, staying a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta. The district court had directed the department to announce registration dates by October 29 and open the application period by November 1 for the program that awards up to 55,000 visas annually to individuals from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

The three-judge panel, consisting of Judges M. Margaret McKeown, N. Randy Smith, and Holly A. Thomas, found that the government is likely to succeed on appeal. It ruled that the immigration law firm Red Eagle Law, which brought the lawsuit after the State Department failed to open the registration period, lacks standing because its financial interest in representing applicants falls outside the zone of interests protected by the program's statute.

"We do not endorse the Department’s failure to open the lottery registration period," the per curiam opinion stated. "Nevertheless, Red Eagle has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits because it is not within the zone of interests of the statute and does not have a cause of action."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously delayed the program's start to implement certain changes, effectively pausing it for fiscal year 2027. The appeals court decision allows the pause to continue while the administration's appeal proceeds.

The Diversity Visa Program, created by a 1990 law, aims to diversify immigration sources. Critics have long argued it functions as a random lottery that bypasses merit-based selection and contributes to higher overall immigration levels.

The ruling represents a procedural victory for the administration's immigration enforcement priorities. It does not resolve the underlying dispute over whether the department must operate the program but prevents the immediate reopening sought by the law firm.

Red Eagle Law had sued in August after the registration period failed to open. The district court's October 14 injunction set revised deadlines that the appeals court has now suspended pending further review.