Verified policy record

U.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 court decision tells U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to restart the normal processing of some 'adjustment of status' applications for the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV). 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. USCIS must do this without using the hold policy. This applies for the rest of the Diversity Visa financial year.

Jurisdiction

United States

Stage

Effective 28 Aug 2026

Published

4 Sept 2026

In force

28 Aug 2026

Category

Court Decisions

Official source

USCIS Newsroom