U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. has ordered the Class Certification of the FY 2020 DV Winners and orders the U.S. State Department to reserve visa for them so that the Class can get immigrant visa even after September 30, 2020– end date of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. Otherwise they would not have been able to apply or get a visa after September 30, 2020. With this Order, they can!
This is a great win for the Plaintiffs and the affected class from a lawsuit brought by a group of Diversity Visa (DV) winners who did not get the visa timely within September 30, 2020. See the Order below:
This Order means the FY 2020 DV visa winners can continue to apply and get the immigrant visa at the U.S. Consulates and Embassies. DV winners should contact the nearest U.S. Consulate or the Embassy to inquire about their visa application or inquire Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) if it has not scheduled your visa interview even after the visa application form (DS-260) and the supporting documentation was completed.
Be aware that KCC can only tell you if your form has been processed. KCC cannot tell you whether or not you or your family members are eligible for diversity visas.
Earlier the Court had ordered the State Department to process all 2020 DV visa applications in a preliminary injunction order. The court orders that the State Department (U.S. Embassies and Consulates) may not interpret or apply the President’s Proclamations in any way that forecloses or prohibits embassy personnel, consular officers, or any administrative processing center (such as the Kentucky Consular Center) from processing, reviewing, or adjudicating a 2020 diversity visa or derivative beneficiary application or issuing or reissuing a 2020 diversity or derivative beneficiary visa based on the entry restrictions contained in the Proclamations. It had ordered that the U.S. embassies and Consulates must undertake good-faith efforts to expeditiously process and adjudicate DV-2020 diversity visa and derivative beneficiary applications and issue or reissue diversity and derivative beneficiary visas to eligible applicants by September 30, 2020, giving priority to the named diversity visa Plaintiffs in Gomez, Aker, Mohammed, and Fonjong and their derivative beneficiaries.
(Developing story check back here again, last updated September 30, 2020)
Note: This is a blog post by Adhikari Law PLLC and should NOT be construed as a legal advice. Changes in immigration policies and procedures are complex and may require a consultation with an experienced immigration lawyer.
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