The DV2027 lottery will not happen because the deadline for holding it — September 30 — was missed, and lawsuits like Medania v. Trump are now what actually decides whether winners from already-completed drawings get their visas.

In short

  • The DV2027 lottery is canceled — the next drawing, if it happens, will be called DV2028, with no confirmed date yet.
  • On October 1, the judge temporarily stayed the order to expedite processing of DV lottery winners’ cases.
  • A consular officer’s decision is no longer final: the Medania v. Trump case materials revealed a multi-layered system for reviewing an officer’s decision.
  • There’s no single financial threshold for Public Charge: applicants with tens of thousands of dollars in reserves have been both approved and denied.
  • On September 25, Judge Vargas denied the government’s attempt to stay the lifted visa ban for 70 countries while the appeal was pending.

Why there’s no DV2027 lottery and when to expect DV2028

The DV2027 lottery will not take place: by rule it has to run before September 30, and the section for this lottery has disappeared from the Visa Bulletin entirely. The drawing is held for the following fiscal year — in this case fiscal year 2027 — and that specific lottery simply isn’t on the calendar.

If a drawing does happen later, it won’t be called DV2027 — it will be DV2028. There’s no confirmed start date for the next lottery yet; that question stays open until an official announcement appears.

DV2027 canceled

The DV2027 lottery will not happen: its section has vanished from the Visa Bulletin. If a drawing happens later, it will be called DV2028 — there’s no confirmed date yet.

Medania v. Trump: what the court has ruled on winner visas

The fate of lottery winners’ visas currently hinges on Medania v. Trump: the judge is personally overseeing how the government carries out the order to issue visas to DV lottery winners.

Here’s the timeline of rulings in the case:

  1. August 28 — the judge issues an order requiring the State Department to take all reasonable steps, to the extent practicable, to resume processing winners’ cases.
  2. In the same order, the judge required the government to reopen applications that were denied solely because the lottery program was paused, and to resume processing applications already in the pipeline through the normal process.
  3. October 1 — the judge temporarily stays the earlier order requiring expedited processing. The order itself is not vacated — only its enforcement is paused.
  4. At the same time, the judge gave the government 10 days to draft instructions for consulates on how to carry out the court’s ruling.

Until those 10 days are up, there’s no clarity on timing — the situation is changing daily.

Timeline of Medania v. Trump

Key dates in the judge’s rulings on lottery winners’ visas.

  • Order to expedite processing of winners’ casesAugust 28
  • Reconsideration of applications denied due to lottery pauseAugust 28
  • Stay of the expedited-processing orderOctober 1The order itself was not vacated
  • Deadline to draft consulate instructions10 daysStarting October 1
Situation is unstable

On August 28, the judge ordered expedited processing of winners’ cases, but on October 1 that same order was temporarily stayed. There’s still no clarity on timing.

Why visa issuance for lottery winners is being delayed

How fast visas get issued depends less on the procedure itself and more on how actively it’s enforced. Reports describe some consulates issuing only a handful of visas a day when enthusiasm is low, while consulates willing to push things through are capable of processing hundreds or thousands. Right now the first scenario is playing out in practice, though not uniformly everywhere.

Winner visas aren’t only handled at consulates inside the United States — processing also happens abroad, including in Kyiv. Some applicants only got their visas after a second interview; such cases have been documented at the Polish consulate in Warsaw, among other places.

A separate problem is how financial sufficiency gets assessed. There’s no single threshold: according to individual accounts, one applicant with roughly $40,000 in reserves was approved, while another applicant with family real estate worth over $100,000 was denied as a potential public charge. With no clear criteria in place, the assessment looks chaotic, and it’s too early to draw conclusions about any pattern.

With no clear criteria in place, the assessment looks chaotic, and it’s too early to draw conclusions about any pattern.

Under these conditions, getting an immigrant visa will be noticeably harder for winners: applicants are being asked to prove financial sufficiency and document the status of their assets.

No single income threshold

An applicant with about $40,000 in reserves was approved, while another with over $100,000 in real estate was denied as a potential public charge.

How consular officers actually decide on a visa: a multi-layered review

During the proceedings, a State Department representative confirmed under oath that the decision to issue an immigrant visa goes through a multi-layered review system. This applies not just to Green Card lottery winners, but to any applicant who files for a visa through a consulate.

  1. The officer’s initial decision. A consular officer assesses whether the applicant meets the requirements for the visa.
  2. Supervisor review. The officer’s decision goes through their direct supervisor.
  3. An additional review layer. The information is uploaded into a dedicated application — who actually conducts the review at this stage, which body handles it, and under what criteria wasn’t clarified by the case materials.
  4. The final outcome. Based on this review, the applicant may be asked for additional steps, or the consular officer’s decision may be overturned.

Before this case, the consensus was that a consular officer’s decision was final and couldn’t be reviewed by anyone. The case materials showed otherwise: there’s a review system in place that can change an officer’s denial or approval even after the interview has already happened.

Before this case, the consensus was that a consular officer’s decision was final and couldn’t be reviewed by anyone.

What’s happening with visas for citizens of 70 countries: the ban lift and appeals

  1. On August 21, a federal court in New York struck down the suspension on issuing immigrant visas to citizens of seventy countries. All denials based on that suspension were ordered to be sent back for reconsideration.

  2. At the same time, interviews were temporarily halted worldwide — the agency said this was due to large-scale staff training on new Public Charge screening rules.

  3. On September 10, the government appealed the ruling that struck down the suspension, and on September 14 filed a separate motion asking to stay that ruling while the appeal was pending. This was an attempt to keep the ban in place while the case was being challenged.

  4. On September 25, Judge Vargas denied that motion: her ruling striking down the ban remains in effect, meaning the suspension itself has no force, and denied applications must be reconsidered. Responding to the government’s argument that delays stemmed from staff training on new standards, the judge noted that the agency had introduced that extra training and review on its own, and it didn’t explain why applications weren’t being processed.

  5. The judge has taken a critical stance toward the government at every stage of the proceedings — seen as a positive sign for lottery winners whose cases were put on hold on this basis.

Lifting the visa ban for 70 countries: how the case unfolded

How the court’s ruling to lift the visa suspension changed over time.

  • New York court strikes down visa suspensionAugust 21
  • Government files an appealSeptember 10
  • Motion to stay the ruling during appealSeptember 14
  • Judge Vargas denies the government’s motionSeptember 25Suspension has no force

Have interviews resumed at the embassies in Poland and Hungary

On September 8, interviews resumed at the embassies in Poland and Hungary. In Poland, applicants showing up for interviews include not only Polish citizens but also citizens of Belarus and Russia — those countries don’t have their own U.S. consulates where a visa could otherwise be processed.

Applicants are now being offered a chance to schedule a second interview, but not everyone should rush to book one. Under the Green Card Lottery program, a consular officer can deny an application at their own discretion if they consider the applicant a potential public charge — and that risk is higher for applicants with lower income. Even having an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) in a family-based immigration case doesn’t guarantee a visa won’t be denied on this ground: such denials are still possible.

Even having an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) in a family-based immigration case doesn’t guarantee a visa won’t be denied on this ground: such denials are still possible.

Don’t rush into an interview

If your income is low, the Public Charge denial risk is higher. Assess your financial standing before booking a second interview.

What’s next for winners: risks and the outlook for getting a visa

The Green Card Lottery is no longer the program applicants from previous years got used to. Winner numbers used to be assigned in a completely random draw, with no assessment of an individual’s financial standing.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply for DV2028 if I haven’t won in previous years?

There’s no confirmed start date for the DV2028 lottery yet — that question stays open until an official announcement. If a drawing does happen, it will be called DV2028, not DV2027, since a lottery for fiscal year 2027 isn’t on the calendar.

Can a denial be appealed if the consular officer already made a decision after the interview?

Yes: a consular officer’s decision goes through supervisor review plus an additional review layer, and based on that review, the officer’s denial or approval can be changed even after the interview has taken place. It was previously thought that a consular officer’s decision was final and couldn’t be reviewed — the case materials showed otherwise.

Does lifting the ban for citizens of 70 countries apply to people who were already denied?

Yes: all visa denials based on the suspension for citizens of seventy countries were ordered to be sent back for reconsideration after the court struck down the suspension itself on August 21. The government’s attempt to keep the ban in place during the appeal was denied by the judge on September 25.

Does having an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) guarantee visa approval for a lottery winner?

No: even having an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) in a family-based immigration case doesn’t guarantee a visa won’t be denied on Public Charge grounds — such denials are still possible. A consular officer can deny an application at their own discretion if they consider the applicant a potential public charge, and the risk is higher for applicants with lower income.

Should I book a second interview right away if it’s offered?

Not everyone should rush to book one: right now financial sufficiency is being assessed without clear, consistent criteria, and the outcome may depend on the individual consular officer. Applicants with lower income should first prepare evidence of financial sufficiency and asset status before going to the interview.