United States · Diversity Visa issuance
State Department says the December 2025 Diversity Visa issuance pause is no longer in effect
The State Department's Diversity Visa issuance guidance, updated August 31, 2026, says that as of August 28, 2026 the December 2025 pause is no longer in effect, in accordance with the court's order in Medani et al. v. Trump et al. DV-2026 entitlement still ends on September 30, 2026.
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Reported and checked by the QueueCheck news desk. Last checked September 1, 2026. How we verify information
The blanket DV issuance pause has ended
The State Department's Diversity Visa issuance guidance, updated August 31, 2026, says: "As of August 28, 2026, in accordance with the Court's order in Medani et al. v. Trump et al., the December 2025 pause of diversity visa issuance is no longer in effect." Before that, the Department's December 2025 guidance said DV issuances were paused, though applicants could still submit applications and attend interviews. What has ended is the blanket issuance pause. Nothing in the update approves an individual case, and every ordinary requirement still applies: eligibility, visa-number availability, security and administrative processing, and the consular process itself. The deadline has not moved either. The September 2026 Visa Bulletin states that entitlement for everyone registered for DV-2026 ends on September 30, 2026 and that visas may not be issued to DV-2026 applicants after that date.
Who the December 2025 pause reached
DV-2026 selectees and their derivative spouses and children who reached the visa stage, whether their case sits at a consulate abroad or was refused solely under the paused guidance. Also relevant to people following the Diversity Visa program generally, and to anyone who read earlier coverage saying DV issuance was paused and needs to know that the published position has changed.
What the August 31 guidance now says
- The State Department's Diversity Visa issuance guidance page was updated on August 31, 2026. The page displays no publication time, so this record gives the date only.
- The page states: "As of August 28, 2026, in accordance with the Court's order in Medani et al. v. Trump et al., the December 2025 pause of diversity visa issuance is no longer in effect."
- The case is Medani et al. v. Trump et al., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 5:26-cv-06332.
- Before this change, the Department's December 2025 guidance said diversity-visa issuances were paused, while stating that applicants could still submit applications and attend interviews.
- The same page still displays older FAQ and pause wording below the newer dated statement. The August 31 statement is the newer guidance; the legacy text has not been removed.
- The September 2026 Visa Bulletin states that the year of entitlement for all DV-2026 registrants ends as of September 30, 2026, and that DVs may not be issued to DV-2026 applicants after that date.
- That bulletin also states that DV availability through the end of FY-2026 cannot be taken for granted, because numbers could be exhausted before September 30.
The dates and wording the Department published
The State Department page carries an update date of August 31, 2026 and shows no publication time.
The date from which the Department says the pause is no longer in effect is August 28, 2026.
The Department attributes the change to the Court's order in Medani et al. v. Trump et al.
The December 2025 guidance paused diversity-visa issuance while allowing applications and interviews to continue.
The official page currently contains both the newer dated statement and older FAQ or pause wording.
The September 2026 Visa Bulletin gives September 30, 2026 as the end of DV-2026 entitlement for principals and for accompanying or following-to-join spouses and children.
Published position on Diversity Visa issuance and the DV-2026 deadline
State Department Diversity Visa issuance guidance and the September 2026 Visa Bulletin checked September 1, 2026
The State Department's Diversity Visa issuance guidance, updated August 31, 2026, says the December 2025 pause is no longer in effect as of August 28, 2026. This snapshot separates that policy change from visa-number availability, individual case processing, and the fixed end of the DV-2026 program year.
Guidance updated
Aug. 31, 2026
The update date shown on the State Department page. The page displays no publication time.
Change effective from
Aug. 28, 2026
The date the Department gives for the pause no longer being in effect.
DV-2026 entitlement ends
Sept. 30, 2026
From the September 2026 Visa Bulletin. Visas may not be issued to DV-2026 applicants after that date.
Court case
Medani et al. v. Trump et al.
N.D. Cal., No. 5:26-cv-06332, as cited by the State Department page.
| Question | Position under the December 2025 guidance | Current published position |
|---|---|---|
| Could a DV applicant apply and attend an interview? | Yes. The Department said applications and interviews continued. | The August 31 update does not say this changed. |
| Could a diversity visa be issued? | No. Issuance was paused. | The Department says the pause is no longer in effect as of August 28, 2026. |
| Does the change approve an individual case? | Not applicable. | No. Eligibility, visa-number availability, security and administrative processing, and consular processing still apply. |
| Has the DV-2026 deadline moved? | September 30, 2026. | September 30, 2026. The September 2026 Visa Bulletin is unchanged on this point. |
| Why does the official page still describe a pause? | That was the position. | Older FAQ and pause wording remains visible below the newer dated statement, which has not been removed. |
What ended, and what did not move
- The blanket issuance pause is the thing that ended, not the ordinary requirements around it.
- The program year still closes on September 30, 2026.
- Numbers could be exhausted before that date, on the bulletin's own wording.
The State Department's updated DV guidance
- State Department: Diversity Visa Issuance Updated Guidance
- State Department: September 2026 Visa Bulletin, note B
An ended pause is not an issued visa
- The State Department page carries both the newer dated statement and older pause wording at the same time.
- This is a State Department consular issuance page. It does not govern a USCIS adjustment-of-status case.
- The official page and any later update control.
Questions DV selectees are asking now
Does this mean my diversity visa will now be issued?
No. The State Department says the blanket pause is no longer in effect, which removes one block. It does not approve a case. A consular officer still applies ordinary eligibility rules, and the case still needs a visa number, completed processing, and the ordinary documents.
The official page still talks about a pause. Which part is right?
The page carries both. The dated statement saying the pause is no longer in effect as of August 28, 2026 is the newer guidance; the older FAQ and pause wording below it has not been removed. Read the dated statement at the top.
My case was refused while issuance was paused. Is that refusal undone?
The State Department's page does not say that refusals reverse automatically. Follow the instructions from the post handling your case, and take qualified advice if a deadline is close.
Does the September 30 deadline still apply to me?
Yes. The September 2026 Visa Bulletin states that entitlement for all DV-2026 registrants ends as of September 30, 2026, and that visas may not be issued to DV-2026 applicants after that date. That applies to derivative spouses and children too.
Is there still a chance the numbers run out before September 30?
The Visa Bulletin itself says DV availability through the end of FY-2026 cannot be taken for granted and that numbers could be exhausted before September 30. QueueCheck cannot say how many remain.
Does this change anything for a DV adjustment-of-status case with USCIS?
This record covers the State Department's consular issuance guidance. An adjustment application filed inside the United States is handled by USCIS under its own process, and this page does not govern it.
What changes for a held DV case
A DV-2026 case that was held only because of the December 2025 blanket issuance pause is no longer subject to that pause.
The change does not issue a visa, approve a case, or create a queue position. A consular officer still applies ordinary eligibility rules and completes any outstanding case processing.
Visa-number availability still governs. The Diversity Visa is numerically limited and allocated by regional rank, so the end of a pause does not make a number available to a rank that has not been reached.
Security and administrative processing are unaffected by this update. A case in administrative processing remains there until that processing concludes.
The September 30, 2026 end of DV-2026 entitlement has not moved. The published change removes a block; it does not extend the program year.
Because the older pause wording is still visible on the same official page, a reader who lands lower down it can come away with the previous position. The dated statement at the top is the newer guidance.
What to do before September 30
- Read the State Department's Diversity Visa issuance guidance page yourself, and read the dated statement at the top rather than the older FAQ text further down.
- Follow the instructions from the consular post or the Kentucky Consular Center handling your case. The published change does not create a new request route or a self-service escalation.
- If your case was refused solely under the paused guidance, the official page and your post's instructions are the record of what happens next. Do not assume a refusal is reversed automatically.
- Keep any medical examination, passport validity, and civil documents current. Ordinary case requirements did not pause while issuance did, and the program year ends September 30, 2026.
- Check the September 2026 Visa Bulletin for your region's DV rank cut-off. A case is not reachable on the end of a pause alone.
- Get qualified immigration advice on a time-sensitive individual situation, particularly where a case was refused, a document has expired, or travel is involved.
How the DV program and a pause interact
The Diversity Visa program allocates a limited number of immigrant visas each fiscal year by lottery, with selectees ordered by a regional rank number. Entitlement is tied to the fiscal year of selection and does not carry over.
A pause on issuance is narrower than a stop on the whole process. Under the December 2025 guidance the Department said applications and interviews continued while issuance was withheld at the end.
Consular processing has several stages that operate independently of any policy pause: documentary qualification, the interview, the medical examination, and any administrative processing.
A court order directed at a government policy does not adjudicate an individual visa application. It changes what the agency may or must do; the case still goes through the agency.
This record concerns the Diversity Visa issuance pause specifically. The Department maintains separate pages for other visa restrictions, each with its own scope, and those must be checked independently.
What this record cannot tell you
- This record reports what the State Department has published on its Diversity Visa issuance guidance page and what the September 2026 Visa Bulletin states. The official pages and any later update control.
- QueueCheck could not load travel.state.gov directly from its build environment. The quoted sentence is the wording supplied for verification and corroborated by two differently worded same-day searches; read the official page for the authoritative text.
- The record does not interpret the court's order beyond what the State Department's own page attributes to it, and does not predict any further litigation step.
- It does not establish that any individual case will be issued, reconsidered, or decided before September 30, 2026.
- It does not say how many DV-2026 numbers remain, and the bulletin itself warns that numbers could be exhausted before the end of the program year.
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Official citation: DV issuance guidance checked
Published September 1, 2026. Original source: U.S. Department of State: Diversity Visa Issuance Updated Guidance.