DV-2027 lottery: Court orders registration to open
The Green Card lottery that looked cancelled is back on. Registration normally opens in early October, and this year it didn’t. The State Department later argued it was too late to open it. On October 14, Judge Jinsook Ohta disagreed and granted a preliminary injunction in a case brought by Red Eagle Law against Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The department must publish the dates, the official website and the participation requirements, including in the Federal Register. Registration must stay open for 30 days and accept electronic entries. Winners are to be processed until all visas are issued or the fiscal year ends in September 2027. Up to 55,000 visas are available.
What to watch: a joint motion asks to move the announcement deadline about two weeks later, so use only dates published by the State Department.
Visitor visas: Interview waits grow from 26 to 201 days
Securing an appointment can be just as challenging as meeting the eligibility requirements. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finds that the average global wait for a visitor visa interview reached 201 days in fiscal year 2025, up from 26 days in fiscal year 2019.
The report points to staffing. Employees handling visitor visas fell about 32% in a year, from 1,342 to 904, mostly due to hiring freezes and attrition, while annual nonimmigrant applications rose from 11.4 million to 13.54 million. Colombia averaged 597 days. In India, 68 officers handled more than 1.45 million applications, roughly 21,400 each.
What to watch: these figures measure interview scheduling only, not the full time to a decision, and waits vary by location. The GAO recommends that the State Department run its staffing review regularly. It has done so once since 2019.
Skilled workforce: A 1.7 million worker gap meets the PERM suspension
Employer sponsorship, the third way in, is being pulled in two directions. The State of America’s Skilled Trades report estimates that the US needs about 1.7 million new skilled workers a year through 2035.
The system is preparing 55 qualified workers for every 100 needed in key technical fields, and about 24% of the skilled trades workforce is 55 or older. Industrial machinery mechanics and millwrights rank in the 98th percentile of the national labor shortage index, and electricians in the 85th.
Meanwhile, the Department of Labor has barred eight technology and outsourcing firms from filing new PERM applications, the first step of the employment-based green card process. Officials cite wage undercutting and program misuse.
Bottom line
Put the three updates side by side and a pattern appears. A lottery entry is open to millions, but with up to 55,000 visas the odds of winning stay below 1%, and a winner still needs an interview, where waits are growing. Employer sponsorship, the route many professionals count on, is narrowed for some of the largest sponsors, even in fields with documented shortages.
The common factor is timing. Rules, dates, and availability can change within days, and success often depends on factors outside your control. Talent visas offer a different approach, allowing you to strengthen your case through your own qualifications, experience, and achievements.
Shamayev Business Law offers a Free evaluation of your immigration case. Submit a request today to receive a clear assessment of your eligibility, strengths, and potential risks within 2 business days, so you can make decisions while there’s still time to act.
This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It summarizes publicly available information as of October 16, 2026, which may not reflect subsequent changes. Reading this publication or contacts with the firm through this website does not create an attorney-client relationship.
