The key facts

  • On October 14, Judge Jinsook Ota ordered the US government to resume the Green Card lottery in the Red Eagle Law lawsuit against Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
  • Registration will open no later than November 1 and last 30 days; results will be announced by December 3.
  • 55,000 foreign nationals are expected to participate; the Trump administration may challenge the ruling.

Court Ruling

A federal court in the Southern District of California has issued a ruling obligating the US government to resume the lottery for issuing Green Cards. This was reported by Courthouse News Service. In the October 14 verdict, Judge Jinsook Ota granted the lawsuit filed by the law firm Red Eagle Law, which specializes in legal assistance to migrants. In August, the organization filed a claim against Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding that registration for the Diversity Visa Lottery be reopened. “We won,” Red Eagle Law founder Curtis Morrison said on Instagram.

Registration Timeline

According to the verdict, the Trump administration was required to announce the lottery registration deadlines by October 15. The application period will last 30 days. Initially, the court ordered applications to open no later than October 18, but the parties agreed to a two-week delay for organizational reasons: registration will open no later than November 1, and results will be announced by December 3.

What's Next

The ruling is expected to allow 55,000 foreign nationals to participate in the lottery. However, the Donald Trump administration may still challenge the verdict.