The green card lottery—officially the Diversity Visa program—randomly awards up to 55,000 permanent resident visas each year. The Trump administration suspended the program in December 2025, citing security concerns, but a federal court ordered it back online in August 2026. However, U.S.
embassies have moved slowly to restart processing, leaving approximately 130,000 selectees racing against a hard September 30, 2026 deadline that cannot be extended. The visa is officially unfrozen. In practice, it remains functionally stalled.
Table of Contents
- What Triggered the Freeze
- The Court Ruled the Pause Unlawful
- Why Processing Remains Slow Despite Resumption
- The September 30 Deadline Is Final
- What Selectees Can Do Now
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Triggered the Freeze
The Trump administration suspended diversity visa issuance on December 23, 2025, following identification of a suspect with a green card connection to December 2025 shootings at Brown University and MIT. The suspension targeted all applicants in the 2026 visa class uniformly and blocked approximately 130,000 selectees from moving forward with interviews or status adjustments. The freeze lasted nine months, disrupting plans for people who had already waited years for their lottery number to become current.
The Court Ruled the Pause Unlawful
A federal judge ruled the blanket pause unlawful on August 25–28, 2026, finding that the State Department and uscis provided no reasoned explanation for the categorical suspension or why all applicants should be treated identically under the Administrative Procedure Act. The judge certified a nationwide class of affected selectees and ordered processing to resume immediately.
The State Department announced compliance on August 28, 2026, instructing embassies and consulates to restart interviews and approvals. Most facilities, however, have shown minimal processing movement as of late September.
Why Processing Remains Slow Despite Resumption
A secondary pause complicated the restart. The State Department began pausing immigrant visa interviews around August 25, 2026, when it started training consular staff on new public charge standards released August 18, 2026 after the Department of Homeland Security rescinded Biden-era policy on July 20. Public charge rules determine whether an applicant might become a financial burden on public assistance programs.
Selectees with interviews scheduled between August 23 and September 30 face rescheduling challenges, as State Department guidance instructs embassies to prioritize them but provides no guarantee new interviews can be accommodated before the fiscal year closes. The combined effect of the original freeze and the training pause created a backlog the government cannot clear before the deadline.
The September 30 Deadline Is Final
The September 30, 2026 expiration is a statutory deadline with no exceptions—by federal law, any DV-2026 visa not issued or status adjustment not approved by midnight that date is permanently void. The visa number cannot be recovered, extended, or carried forward. The deadline is hardcoded in immigration law and the government has no authority to delay it. This means selectees who do not receive an approved visa or green card status before that date lose their entire eligibility, despite winning the lottery years earlier and despite the legal case they won against the government.
What Selectees Can Do Now
If your interview is scheduled before September 30, confirm the appointment immediately and gather all required documents to avoid delays. If your interview was cancelled, contact your embassy or consulate directly to request rescheduling and ask about priority processing given the court order and the compressed timeline. Do not rely on the government's slow pace.
Prepare as though your interview will happen within the next few weeks, and escalate through your embassy's administrative channels if rescheduling appears unlikely before the deadline. Immigration attorneys report that some selectees have filed additional complaints about continued delays; consult one if you are close to the deadline and have not received an interview date.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I extend my visa past September 30?
No. The September 30 expiration is a statutory deadline with no exceptions. Any visa not issued by that date is permanently void and cannot be recovered.
Is my visa still frozen?
Officially, no—the government resumed processing on August 28, 2026 following the court order. In practice, most embassies are processing slowly, leaving selectees uncertain about whether they will receive visas before the deadline.
Why is public charge training slowing things down?
The State Department paused visa interviews in late August to train staff on new public charge standards that changed on July 20, 2026. This training delay overlapped with the court-ordered restart, compounding the backlog. —