Attorneys for thousands of Diversity Visa applicants asked federal judges in California and Washington, D.C., to hold the Trump administration in civil contempt over what they say is noncompliance with orders to restart green-card lottery processing in the United States. The filing says only 108 of 1,196 named plaintiffs in Medani v. Trump had visas approved after an August 28 order, while the Justice Department argues contempt is not warranted and opposes extending the end-of-September visa deadline; Judge Edward Davila was set to hear the issue Tuesday, and Judge Richard Leon also requested a government response in the related Ivanov v. Trump case.
Why it matters: The case could determine whether thousands of selected applicants lose a chance to immigrate through the Diversity Visa program because processing did not resume in time. It also tests how far courts can go to force the administration to carry out immigration-processing orders before annual visa deadlines expire.
2026.09.28
100% relevant
This article establishes a distinct story about contempt proceedings and deadline-extension requests tied to the Trump administration's handling of the Diversity Visa program, not a development in an existing tracked story.
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