Green Card Lottery Paused in 2025 — What the DV Suspension Really Means

On December 18 to 19, 2025, major outlets reported that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, acting at President Trump’s direction, instructed USCIS to pause the DV1 program.

A key detail gets lost in headlines. The Diversity Visa Program is a federal program created by Congress. It is administered across agencies, with the Department of State running the entry and consular visa process, while USCIS handles certain parts inside the United States, including adjustment of status for eligible selectees already in the country.

So if the instruction is limited to USCIS, the immediate practical impact would be concentrated on DV applicants who planned to adjust status in the United States. Consular processing and the annual entry system sit with the Department of State.

DV1 is a visa classification label used in Diversity Visa cases. Most people experience the program in two ways.

Consular processing through the Department of State, which includes the DS-260 process, Kentucky Consular Center workflow, and a consular interview.

Adjustment of status through USCIS for people already lawfully in the United States and eligible to adjust under the DV Program.

A pause at USCIS would not automatically equal a full stop of the entire program nationwide. It would hit the adjustment track first.

The DV Program operates on strict fiscal-year deadlines. Selectees can only get DV-based immigrant status within the specific fiscal year tied to their selection, and after September 30 of that fiscal year the opportunity ends. USCIS Policy Manual guidance reflects that the selectee is no longer eligible after that date.

This matters because a pause, even if temporary, can push cases past the deadline. At that point, the case can become impossible to finish under DV rules.

As of today, reporting describes a pause instruction to USCIS, but public reporting does not provide detailed procedural scope, duration, or an implementation memo.

At Relocode, we treat this as a developing situation. For DV applicants, the practical next step is to watch for formal updates from USCIS and the Department of State, because those agencies control the actual workflows people rely on.

If you are a DV selectee outside the United States, keep monitoring Department of State guidance and your case status steps, because consular processing is driven there.

If you are a DV selectee in the United States planning adjustment of status, follow USCIS updates closely and act quickly where the law still allows it, since DV cases are deadline-driven.

And if you are not selected yet, do not treat DV as your only plan. DV is a chance. It is not a stable strategy, especially when political or administrative shocks affect processing capacity.