The Biden administration has been ordered to save 7,395 diversity visas past their original expiration date with instructions to hold them for a specific group of lottery winners. These diversity visa winners have been awaiting processing.

The Washington D.C. federal judge stated the Covid-19 pandemic was only partly to blame for visa processing delays. As such, the judge stated court intervention was required. Diversity visas were not processed for approximately five months and the ‘unlawful deprioritizing’ of processing after adjudications resumed is grounds for the court action.

The reserved visas can only be issued to any of the 24,000 lottery winners and their families who filed lawsuits against the White House for eliminating their ability to be processed. Originally, there were four separate lawsuits, which were consolidated.

Both the Trump and the Biden administrations were targeted in the lawsuits. Restrictions that barred foreign nationals from entering the U.S. on new immigrant visas and the State Department’s priority system caused diversity visa processing to accrue a bigger backlog.

Previously, the federal judge blocked the State Department’s processing hierarchy. Further, the court ordered the Department to quickly process the diversity visa holders’ applications. The State Department only issued 15,000 diversity visas as of September 24, 2021. That left 40,000 diversity visas to expire on September 30, 2021.

The federal judge found the State Department could have processed an additional 24,450 throughout the year based on processing speeds for other comparable visas. However, only one in three diversity visa winners, roughly, filed their applications in a complete and timely manner. Therefore, the additional 7,395 visas could have been processed.

A U.S. District Judge ordered an additional 966 diversity visas past their expiration date just days prior to the federal judge’s orders for the 7,395.

Those diversity visa winners who completed their filings, in order of complete submission, and have local embassies that are actively processing filings are at an advantage to gain one of these reserved diversity visas. Individuals who were not a party to any legal action have a lower chance of receiving a reserved diversity visa.

ILBSG continues to monitor all legal activity regarding immigration. If you have questions about a diversity visa or any other immigration-related issue, contact us. We are here to help.

Diversity Visa