U.S. District Court Temporarily Vacates USCIS Diversity Visa Hold Policy, Orders Resumption of Normal Adjudication
Current rules
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order temporarily vacating Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193. USCIS is ordered to resume ordinary adjudication of pending adjustment of status applications for plaintiffs and the certified subclass without applying PM-602-0193, to the extent practicable and in good faith, for the remainder of the Diversity Visa fiscal year.
Overview
On 28 August 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order in Medani, et al., v. Trump, et al., temporarily vacating Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193. This ruling mandates the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to resume ordinary adjudication of certain Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) adjustment of status applications, without applying the hold policy, for the remainder of the Diversity Visa fiscal year.
Who is affected by the latest change
- People chosen for the Diversity Visa Programme for the 2026 financial year (FY-2026) and their dependent family members who are plaintiffs in Medani, et al., v. Trump, et al
- An approved group of all people chosen for the Diversity Visa Programme for the 2026 financial year (FY-2026) and their dependent family members who are affected by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Diversity Visa Hold from Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193
What changed in the latest version
Before
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) used Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193. This policy stopped the processing of 'adjustment of status' applications for people chosen for the Diversity Visa Programme. It also stopped processing for their dependent family members. An 'adjustment of status' application is when someone already in the United States asks to change their immigration status to become a lawful permanent resident.
After
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order. This order temporarily removed Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must now restart the normal processing of 'adjustment of status' applications. An 'adjustment of status' application is when someone already in the United States asks to change their immigration status to become a lawful permanent resident. This applies to the plaintiffs in the case and the approved group of people. USCIS must do this without using Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193. This must happen as much as possible and in good faith. This rule applies for the rest of the Diversity Visa financial year.
This court order directly affects people who were chosen for the Diversity Visa Programme for the 2026 financial year (FY-2026). It also affects their dependent family members who are in the United States. This is especially true for those whose 'adjustment of status' applications were stopped by Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193. An 'adjustment of status' application is when someone already in the United States asks to change their immigration status to become a lawful permanent resident. For these applicants, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must now continue with the normal processing of their applications. This removes the hold that was in place. This means that people covered by the court order may see their applications move forward to a decision. This could lead to them getting permanent residency. Employers and lawyers who represent these people should know that processing for these specific applications is expected to restart.
Explained simply
Imagine you're trying to get a special permit to live in the U.S., like winning a lottery. The government had a rule (PM-602-0193) that put a 'pause' on some of these permit applications, like pressing a stop button, to check if people were safe. But a court has now told the government to 'un-pause' these specific applications and process them normally, as if the stop button was never pressed, for everyone who was affected by that pause.
Frequently asked
Version history
- v1Effective 28 Aug 2026EffectiveHigh impactU.S. District Court Temporarily Vacates USCIS Diversity Visa Hold Policy, Orders Resumption of Normal Adjudication
On 28 August 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order. This order was for the case Medani, et al., v. Trump, et al. It temporarily removed Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193. This Policy Memorandum had stopped the processing of 'adjustment of status' applications for some people chosen for the Diversity Visa Programme. An 'adjustment of status' application is when someone already in the United States asks to change their immigration status to become a lawful permanent resident. Because of the court's order, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must now restart the normal processing of these applications. This applies to the plaintiffs in the case and a newly approved group of people chosen for the Diversity Visa Programme for the 2026 financial year (FY-2026). It also applies to their dependent family members. USCIS must process these applications without using the hold policy.
Timeline
Announced
4 Sept 2026
On 28 August 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order in Medani, et al., v. Trump, et al., temporarily vacating Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193. This ruling mandates the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to resume ordinary adjudication of certain Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) adjustment of status applications, without applying the
Takes effect
28 Aug 2026
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order temporarily vacating Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193. USCIS is ordered to resume ordinary adjudication of pending adjustment of status applications for plaintiffs and the certified subclass without applying PM-602-0193, to the extent practicable and in good faith, for the remainder of the Diversity Visa fiscal year.
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