A federal judge ordered the State Department to resume normal processing of DV-2026 Green Card lottery cases, but applicants at interviews are facing mass denials based on public charge — the likelihood of becoming a financial burden on the state. Case attorneys recommend immediately submitting proof of financial independence and requesting reconsideration of the decision.

What happened to DV-2026 visas

At the end of 2025 and beginning of 2026, American authorities imposed restrictions that stopped processing of DV-2026 lottery cases. USCIS suspended final adjudication of green card applications for lottery winners located within the United States. The State Department separately halted the issuance of DV immigrant visas through American consulates. Additionally, another halt on issuing immigrant visas to citizens of seventy countries was introduced due to a new review of the possibility that a person could become dependent on state assistance — public charge.

These restrictions were particularly critical for the lottery because there is a strict visa issuance deadline: September 30, when the fiscal year ends. After this date, obtaining a DV lottery visa becomes practically impossible.

Federal court decision in August 2026

On August 28, federal judge Edward Davila partially granted the plaintiffs’ requests and certified three groups of applicants. The judge temporarily overturned all three challenged green card issuance suspensions. The State Department is obligated to resume normal processing of cases, and USCIS must resume reviewing applications for status change within the United States without applying the suspensions.

The judge ordered the government not to keep cases “frozen” but to make individual decisions based on law. However, the State Department did not immediately fully comply with this order, resulting in precious time being lost and a large number of visas not being issued.

Additional time for case review

Due to delays by the government, Judge Davila granted an additional 10 days for reviewing DV-2026 lottery cases. However, after this decision, a new development emerged: the State Department requested an additional 10 days to resolve technical issues and prepare instructions for all consulates. The case attorneys agreed to the technical pause with an important condition: the 10 days that the court already granted for actual case review should only begin counting after the State Department resolves the technical problems. Thus, the potential schedule looks like this: first up to 10 days for technical preparation, and then 10 days for actual additional review of winning cases.

New denials on public charge grounds

After court intervention, consulates did begin rapidly scheduling DV-2026 lottery interviews. However, a troubling problem emerged: some applicants are being denied based on the likelihood of becoming a burden on the state, using the public charge rationale.

Applicants report that they are submitting proof of income, substantial assets, bank documents, diplomas, professional résumés, evidence of successful careers, and documents about profitable businesses, yet still receive denials. A serious question arises: whether the previous administrative suspension is being replaced by another mechanism that results in a large number of individual rejections.

Case attorneys expressed concern about the application of the new public charge assessment. However, they cannot directly challenge each individual consular denial within the Medani case.

Attorney recommendations: how to respond to a denial

If you have been scheduled for an interview, attend and be as prepared as possible, especially regarding financial independence. If you have already been denied on public charge grounds, case attorneys provide the following recommendations:

— keep the denial and gather additional documents; — prepare all evidence of financial self-sufficiency: assets, bank accounts, income, education, professional qualifications, business documents, job offers — anything that can refute the conclusion about possible dependence on state assistance; — submit the documents to the consulate and request immediate reconsideration of the decision.

This is especially important now, as the State Department’s new policy on public charge was already addressed in the Medani case itself, and arguments on this topic were submitted.

What is happening now

The main question remains open: will DV-2026 lottery winners receive the full additional 10 days after the technical pause and how many visas will still be issued before September 30. At this point, we cannot say that the judge has already definitively approved the 10 + 10 day scheme. The next court decision on this issue is expected.