Original Date Announced

USCIS issued a policy memorandum (PM-602-0193) directing USCIS personnel to:

1. Place a hold on all pending adjustment of status, ancillary benefits, and associated waiver applications for noncitizens applying for adjustment of status under the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program; and
2. Conduct a comprehensive review of all policies, procedures, and screening and vetting processes for adjustment of status, ancillary benefits, and associated waiver applications by noncitizens seeking adjustment of status under the DV Program.

The memorandum mandates that all noncitizens with pending adjustment of status, ancillary benefits, and waiver applications undergo a thorough review process to “fully assess all national, criminal, and related grounds of inadmissibility and deportation.” The guidance further specifies which cases are subject to the hold and outlines factors to consider when assessing benefit eligibility. Any requests to lift the hold due to litigation or other extraordinary circumstances must receive approval from the USCIS Director or Deputy Director.

The memorandum states that the hold was issued at the direction of DHS Secretary Noem. It cites the December 2025 shootings at Brown University and of an MIT professor, allegedly committed by a noncitizen admitted under the DV Program.

Trump 2.0 [ID #2156]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.12.23 DOS - Diversity Visa Issuance Updated Guidance

DOS announced that effective immediately, it has paused issuance of all diversity visas for national security and public safety reasons. Applicants may submit visa applications, as well as schedule and attend interviews, but no diversity visas will be issued.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2026.03.15 Complaint - Ivanov v. Trump

Plaintiffs, 2026 Diversity Visa (“DV”) selectees and their derivative beneficiaries, challenge the federal government’s policies effectively suspending the DV program, including USCIS’s December 2025 directive placing DV adjustment-of-status applications on hold, the Department of State’s directive requiring consular officers to refuse DV visa applications under INA § 221(g), and the subsequent “Public Charge Pause” applicable to immigrant visa applicants from designated countries. Plaintiffs allege that these policies unlawfully halt or restrict adjudication of their applications in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, including because the policies are arbitrary and capricious, contrary to the Immigration and Nationality Act, and were implemented without required notice-and-comment procedures; they also assert claims for unlawful withholding and unreasonable delay, mandamus, and constitutional violations. They request declaratory and injunctive relief. Ivanov v. Trump, Case No. 1:26-cv-00915 (D.D.C.).

**Link to case here. Our litigation entries generally report only the initial complaint and any major substantive filings or decisions. For additional information, CourtListener provides access to PACER and all available pleadings. Other sites that track litigation in more detail or organize cases by topic include Civil Rights Clearinghouse, Justice Action Center, National Immigration Litigation Alliance, and Just Security**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2026.03.30 USCIS - Update on USCIS' Strengthened Screening and Vetting

USCIS issued an update on its screening and vetting efforts pursuant to the above policy memorandum, USCIS PM-602-0193, stating that it has reviewed and updated screening and vetting practices, and is continuing to develop a layered vetting plan as well as further guidance. The update makes no mention of lifting any holds on pending adjustment of status, ancillary benefits, and associated waiver applications for noncitizens applying for adjustment of status under the DV program.

However, the update additionally references USCIS PM-602-0192 and PM-602-0194 and states that USCIS established an internal process for lifting holds on individual or group cases, and has lifted holds for the following groups: noncitizens vetted through Operation PARRIS; certain petitions filed by US citizens; intercountry adoption forms; certain rescheduled oath ceremonies; statutory and regulatory decision issuance; refugee registrations for South African citizens/nationals; certain special immigrant visa petitions; certain employment authorization documents; and asylum applications from non-high-risk countries. USCIS states that it will continue to review all application types and lift holds for both individual and group cases “as appropriate.”

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2026.08.25 Order - Ivanov v. Trump

A D.C. federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s categorical pause on diversity visa processing was unlawful because the State Department and USCIS failed to explain how halting the program addressed screening concerns arising from the December 2025 Brown University and MIT shooting or why all applicants should be treated alike. The agencies had paused the program shortly after the shooting and, according to the court, considered no alternatives while disregarding the interests of selectees and their families who had relied on the existing process. The judge also invalidated the State Department’s indefinite suspension of immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries, finding that the nationality-based policy displaced Congress’s requirement for individualized public-charge determinations. The rulings require the government to resume interviewing and adjudicating the named plaintiffs’ diversity visa cases and qualifying relatives, although the diversity visa ruling applies only to the named plaintiffs and is not binding in other cases. Ivanov v. Trump, Case No. 1:26-cv-00915 (D.D.C.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2026.08.28 Order Granting in Part Motion for Class Certification and Preliminary Injunction - Medani v. Trump

Judge Edward J. Davila preliminarily enjoined and temporarily vacated three policies halting FY-2026 Diversity Visa adjudication: USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0193 (Dec. 19, 2025), holding all pending DV adjustment of status applications for "comprehensive review"; the DOS "Updated Diversity Visa Guidance" (Dec. 20, 2025), pausing all DV visa issuance; and the DOS "Notice Pausing Visa Approval for 75 Countries" (effective Jan. 21, 2026), requiring refusal of immigrant visa applicants from 75 countries pending new public charge guidance. The court held the policies are final agency action despite their "temporary" framing, and that plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claims because the agencies offered no reasoned explanation for categorical suspensions, considered no alternatives, and ignored reliance interests. DOS and USCIS were directed to resume ordinary adjudication for the remainder of the DV fiscal year, to the extent practicable and in good faith. The court followed Ivanov v. Trump (D.D.C.), which reached the same conclusion on summary judgment as to named plaintiffs; the 75-Country Pause was separately vacated in Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. v. Rubio (S.D.N.Y.). Medani v. Trump, No. 5:26-cv-06332 (N.D. Cal.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**