Green card lottery did not open on November 1; valid passport required

Registration for the DV-2027 lottery did not begin after a U.S. appeals court ruling on October 29. Applicants from Türkiye will have to submit valid passport details and a scan, in addition to the $1 fee, when registration opens.

Registration for the 2027 cycle of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, widely known as the green card lottery, did not open on November 1. The program grants immigrant visas to up to 55,000 people each year. On October 29, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the government’s emergency request and stayed, pending the appeal, a lower court order requiring registration to begin.

In a lawsuit filed by immigration law firm Red Eagle Law, U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta of the Central District of California had issued a preliminary injunction on October 14. The order required the U.S. Department of State to announce the registration dates by October 29, accept applications for 30 days beginning November 1, and notify those selected by December 3.

Court: Program was not created to generate revenue for law firms

A panel consisting of Judges M. Margaret McKeown, N. Randy Smith and Holly A. Thomas ruled that the plaintiff law firm’s financial interest fell outside the scope of the protections provided by the law. The ruling said the program was created “not to generate revenue for law firms, but to promote immigration.” The panel stressed that its statement, “We do not approve of the Department’s failure to open the registration period,” did not mean the ruling had legitimized the government’s position.

9. Daire Temyiz Mahkemesinin San Francisco'daki binası (arşiv, Carol M. Highsmith)

The Trump administration suspended the program in December 2025 after it emerged that a Portuguese national suspected of two shootings in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, in which multiple people were killed, had obtained a visa through the program. Curtis Morrison, the owner of Red Eagle Law, said they would move quickly with new lawsuits against the Department of State.

What awaits applicants from Türkiye?

Türkiye has been among the countries eligible to participate in the lottery in recent years. The Department of State has not yet announced the DV-2027 registration dates, and it remains uncertain whether the program will open for this cycle while the appeals process continues. Once registration opens, applications may be submitted only through the Department’s official website, dvprogram.state.gov.

Under regulations published in March 2026, beginning with DV-2027, every applicant must enter valid passport information and upload scans of the passport’s biographical and signature pages. A nonrefundable $1 registration fee has also been charged since September 2025. Applicants should avoid websites that request additional payment or promise “guaranteed registration.”

ABD Daimi Oturma Kartı (green card) örneği, 2023 tasarımı (USCIS)