Court Temporarily Vacates the USCIS Diversity Visa Hold; DV Adjustment Cases Ordered Back Into Normal Processing

On Aug. 28, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order in Medani v. Trump, No. 26-cv-6332, temporarily vacating USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193 — the "DV Hold" that had stopped adjudication of adjustment of status applications filed by Diversity Visa selectees — pending further litigation. The court also certified a subclass of "all selectees and derivative beneficiaries under the FY-2026 Diversity Visa Program who are subject to the USCIS DV Hold imposed by Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193," and ordered USCIS "to the extent practicable and in good faith, to take all reasonable steps during the remainder of the Diversity Visa fiscal year to resume ordinary adjudication of plaintiffs' pending adjustment of status applications without applying" the memorandum. USCIS confirmed the order in an alert dated Sept. 4, 2026, adding that it "strongly disagrees with the Court's order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review." Two limits matter, and neither is small. The vacatur is temporary and expressly pending further litigation, so it can still be appealed, stayed, or reversed. And the relief is tied to the FY-2026 Diversity Visa year, which by statute closes at the end of the federal fiscal year — DV selectees remain eligible to receive a visa only through the end of the fiscal year for which they were selected. If you were selected in the FY-2026 DV lottery and your Form I-485 has been sitting without a decision, this hold is the likely reason and it should now be lifted, but the remaining window is short. Contact us promptly rather than waiting to hear from USCIS.