Poland has been among the countries eligible to participate in the visa lottery (European region) for years, so the matter directly concerns a portion of the Polish-American community waiting for a green card drawn in the DV-2026 cycle. However, the final months of this cycle have been marked by administrative turmoil and now—a race against the calendar.
Three blocks in eight months
The program was suspended in stages. On December 19, 2025, USCIS issued Memorandum PM-602-0193, ordering the suspension of the adjudication of adjustment of status applications (I-485) filed by DV program participants—as part of a security review ordered by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following a violent incident involving a person who had previously entered the US through the program. Four days later, on December 23, 2025, the Department of State suspended the issuance of DV visas worldwide—“without exception”—announcing a review of verification procedures. On February 2, 2026, a third block was added: a freeze on 75 countries deemed to carry an elevated risk of public benefits usage.
Court: blocks “likely arbitrary”
The case Medani et al. v. Trump (US District Court for the Northern District of California, Judge Edward J. Davila) was filed by 664 families and 1,489 plaintiffs. On August 27, 2026, a hearing took place, and the very next day the court partially granted the motion for a preliminary injunction: it certified three subclasses of DV-2026 participants affected by the suspension and temporarily halted all three administration blocks as “likely arbitrary and capricious,” ordering the resumption of normal case processing. The court scheduled another hearing for September 18, 2026—to review how the resumption is actually proceeding in practice.
What this means in practice
It is worth being cautious here about simplifications appearing in some reports: the headline “court lifts block” does not mean everyone will immediately get a visa. On August 31, 2026, the Department of State updated its information page, confirming at the top that the December suspension is “not in effect”—yet the same page, in the Q&A section, still described the pre-ruling status, including the caveat that there are “no exceptions” to the visa issuance suspension. In other words: the court ordered a resumption, but the pace and scope of the actual reinstatement of procedures—especially visa issuance at consulates abroad, including in Warsaw—depends on the individual facility and remains subject to court oversight. Individuals waiting for a visa should check their case status directly rather than relying solely on headlines.
September 30 — a date that cannot be moved
Regardless of the pace of resumption, a hard statutory deadline from the Immigration and Nationality Act applies: all DV-2026 visas, including visas for family members, must be issued—and adjustment of status applications approved—by midnight Eastern Time on September 30, 2026. After this date, unused visa numbers are permanently lost with no possibility of being carried over to the next year. Across the entire DV program for fiscal year 2026, up to 55,000 visas are available, and no single country may receive more than 7 percent of the pool.
What to do while waiting for a decision
Immigration attorneys monitoring the case advise DV-2026 participants to: submit form DS-260 to the Kentucky Consular Center if they haven’t done so already; continuously check application status via the Entrant Status Check system and the CEAC portal; keep police certificates and medical examinations valid, because any acceleration of procedures may leave only days to finalize formalities; and follow the outcome of the court hearing on September 18, 2026, which will show whether the administration is truly complying with the order. Due to the tight timeframe and changing case status, it is advisable to consult an immigration attorney about your individual situation rather than relying solely on media reports.
Matters related to the visa lottery and green cards require precision and up-to-date knowledge of changing regulations—Polish immigration lawyers from the Polish Pages directory can help assess what this ruling specifically means for your case.
