- USCIS resumed ordinary review of FY 2026 Diversity Visa cases after a California court vacated the hold.
- The order covers affected selectees and derivative beneficiaries with pending Form I-485 adjustment cases in the United States.
- Applicants must still meet eligibility rules, and FY 2026 eligibility ends September 30, 2026.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has resumed ordinary review of FY 2026 Diversity Visa adjustment cases after a federal court temporarily vacated the hold policy on August 28, 2026.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California acted in Medani, et al. v. Trump, et al., 26-cv-6332. Its order covers the affected selectees and derivative beneficiaries whose domestic adjustment cases remained subject to the agency’s hold.
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The court directed the agency, “to the extent practicable and in good faith,” to take reasonable steps during the rest of the DV fiscal year to resume work on the plaintiffs’ pending applications without using the hold memo.
That does not approve any case automatically. Each application must still satisfy the applicable requirements.
The policy at issue, PM-602-0193, was titled “Hold and Review of Pending USCIS Adjustment of Status Applications Filed by Aliens Under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.” It had stopped final action on pending adjustment applications and also covered related ancillary benefits and waiver filings.
The court order reaches pending domestic adjustment cases
The certified subclass includes all FY 2026 selectees and derivative beneficiaries affected by the hold. In practical terms, that group centers on pending Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, cases filed through the adjustment process inside the United States.
Related filings can move with those cases. They include ancillary-benefit requests and associated waivers tied to an applicant’s adjustment application.
The order changes the treatment of the cases, not the eligibility standard. Applicants still need to remain eligible, submit required evidence, and receive an individualized decision.
A federal court in Rhode Island had already addressed the hold in related litigation. The sequence of actions now gives applicants two court orders to place alongside the agency’s original pause.
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| December 19, 2025 | DHS and the agency issued the hold policy and paused final adjudication of pending DV-based I-485 cases. |
| June 5, 2026 | A federal court in Rhode Island ruled the adjudication hold unlawful in related litigation. |
| June 11, 2026 | A Rhode Island order vacated the hold there as well. |
| August 28, 2026 | The Northern District of California temporarily vacated the policy for the certified DV subclass. |
The latest order requires the agency to resume ordinary adjudication where that can be done. It does not set a guaranteed completion date for every case.
Applicants should keep cases ready while adjudication restarts
Pending applicants can take several practical steps while field offices and agency units work through the cases:
- Continue under ordinary adjustment-of-status procedures unless the agency sends a case-specific request or notice.
- Monitor notices and case status regularly. Scheduling and implementation can differ by field office and case posture.
- Keep evidence current for the I-485 and connected filings, including materials needed to respond to a request from the agency.
- Respond to any notice within the stated period and preserve copies of submissions and supporting documents.
The restart does not remove the need to meet the fiscal-year cutoff. DV benefits for FY 2026 remain tied to the statutory end of that fiscal year.
The court’s action therefore leaves a narrow window for cases that were paused in December. A case can resume review and still fail if it does not meet the legal requirements or cannot be processed before the fiscal year ends.
The order also leaves workload questions unresolved. The agency has not announced a detailed public schedule for clearing the held cases, so the pace will depend on agency capacity and the time remaining in FY 2026.
Applicants should watch official notices rather than assume that the court order guarantees an approval or an immediate decision. Processing times and fees are subject to change; verify current information at USCIS.
