Subsequent Trump-Era and Court Action(s)

• June 30, 2020

  District Court Memorandum Opinion and Amended Order: Gomez v. Trump

  The district court in Gomez v. Trump orders the State Department to reserve 9,095 diversity visas for future processing.

  **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

  View Document
• September 4, 2020

  District Court Memorandum Opinion and Order: Gomez v. Trump

  Gomez v. Trump required DOS to make good-faith efforts to expeditiously adjudicate 2020 Fiscal Year (DV-2020) diversity visa applications by September 30, 2020, notwithstanding the April 22, 2020 presidential proclamation suspending the entry of immigrants due to COVID-19.

  **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

  View Document
• August 18, 2021

  Partial Summary Judgement Order: Gomez v. Trump

  On August 18, 2021, the NDCA grants motion for partial summary judgment, finding that the government's policy of refusing to process DV-2020 applications was unlawful and that the government inappropriately excluded DV-2020 applicants from expedited visa processing. The court orders the processing, in random order, of all 9,095 reserved diversity visas.

  **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

  View Document
• October 13, 2021

  2021.10.13 DV 2020 Issuance Order

  On October 13, 2021, a U.S. District Court judge for the District of Columbia once again ordered the Biden administration to process the 9,095 diversity visas reserved from fiscal year 2020. The Biden administration has asked the court to suspend the requirement until FY 2023 in order to continue focusing efforts on Afghani applicants for Special Immigrant Visas and develop adequate systems and capacity to resume processing the 2020 diversity visa applications.

  **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

  View Document
• December 10, 2021

  Notice of Appeal - Gomez v. Biden

  On December 10, 2021, the Biden administration filed a notice of appeal to the D.C. Circuit, seeking to challenge the October 13, 2021 decision of the District Court for the District of Columbia which ordered the State Department to process 9,095 visas reserved for members of the Gomez class by September 30, 2022. (The case is now known as Gomez v. Biden (D.D.C. 1:20-cv-01419).

  **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

  View Document
• June 25, 2024

  Goodluck v. Biden, No. 21-5263 (D.C. Cir. June 25, 2024)

  In Goodluck v. Biden, No. 21-5263 (D.C. Cir. June 25, 2024), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed multiple consolidated district court decisions (including Gomez v. Trump) that had ordered the Department of State to process and issue diversity visas (DVs) originally suspended under Proclamation 10014 (and subsequently extended by Proclamation 10052 in 2020 and 2021).

  The Court holds that the district courts lacked authority to order this relief because the governing statute precludes issuance of DVs after the end of the fiscal year in which eligibility occurred. The Court then declined to reach issues related to the legality of the original proclamation or of State Department policies implementing the proclamation.

  **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

  View Document