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DV-2026: re-interviews and what happens after September 30

Updated: Author: Alina Kanametova

Key answer

Sep 30, 2026 is the last day a DV-2026 visa can be issued: under 22 CFR 42.33 DV eligibility ends with the fiscal year, and after it an officer may not issue a visa under any circumstances; USCIS says the same for adjustment inside the US. On Aug 28, 2026 the court in Medani v. Trump temporarily vacated the pauses for all DV-2026 selectees, and on Sep 10 the State Department ordered 221(g) refusals reconsidered and encouraged in-person re-interviews. By Sep 21 the State Department told the court about 302 re-interviews had been scheduled. The court has not ordered numbers held past Sep 30; the plaintiffs' motion of Sep 24 was undecided as of Sep 30.

WarsawAlmatyTashkentBishkekTbilisiYerevan
Sep 30, 2026the last day a DV-2026 visa can be issued (22 CFR 42.33)
~302re-interviews scheduled, per the State Department report to the court as of Sep 21
138chat messages about re-interviews in September
1 251monthly searches for "dv 2026" (Wordstat)

How DV-2026 got to re-interviews

  1. Dec 23, 2025 - The State Department paused DV issuance; USCIS held DV applications inside the US (PM-602-0193 of Dec 19, 2025). From Jan 21, 2026 the 75-country immigrant-visa pause was added.
  2. Aug 25, 2026 - Ivanov v. Trump: relief only for about 1,900 named plaintiffs (per the State Department cable of Sep 10).
  3. Aug 28, 2026 - Medani v. Trump: the court temporarily vacated all three policies for a class of all DV-2026 selectees and ordered refusals reconsidered through the end of the fiscal year.
  4. Sep 10, 2026 - State Department cable 26 STATE 88862: no refusals under 221(g) for the pauses, officers encouraged to re-interview in person, priority to DV-2026 cases with interviews first set for Aug 23 - Sep 30; a public-charge worksheet is required in every case. The same day the court found State had not scheduled a single interview and ordered reports three times a week.
  5. Sep 21, 2026 - State Department report to the court: about 302 re-interviews scheduled, about 4 DV visas approved since the previous report.
  6. Sep 24, 2026 - Plaintiffs filed an emergency motion for supplemental relief; heard Sep 29, no ruling as of Sep 30.

What they ask for at the re-interview

WhatWhere this comes from
Public-charge worksheetrequired in every case per the State Department cable of Sep 10, 2026
A US sponsor and I-134I-864 is not mandatory for DV; in January 2026 Almaty added a sponsor to its document list, and in February members said Warsaw did not require one (chat archive)
Bank statements and incomepart of the public-charge check; see the public charge page
A repeat medical examthe Almaty list of January 2026 said outright that medical results may expire while pending (chat archive)
An in-person re-interviewencouraged by the State Department cable of Sep 10, 2026; for applications inside the US memo PM-602-0193 also allowed an interview or re-interview

Community reports by consulate

Paraphrased from the chat archive for January - June 2026, without names; this is members' experience, not consulate rules.

  • Almaty. January 2026: a US sponsor and a note on expiring medicals added to the DV document list; May 2026: an interview invitation for July for a case numbered in the 20,000s
  • Warsaw. February 2026: members said no sponsor was required, so many chose Warsaw; a Schengen visa is needed
  • Chisinau. April 2026: the interview went without questions, a 221(g) sheet was issued because of the pause with a promise to call if things changed
  • Tbilisi. April 2026: members discussed a case where another refusal ground sat next to 221(g) - that is not the formal pause, and reconsideration under Medani does not lift it

The Schengen trap

For Russian nationals immigrant visas are scheduled in Warsaw, Almaty and Tashkent (the last two for some categories only, per the State Department list, checked Oct 2, 2026). Warsaw requires a Schengen visa, and in 2026 chat members said Poland does not issue them to Russian citizens, so they travelled on other Schengen countries' visas or interviewed in Almaty as their country of residence. With a re-interview set days before September 30 there may be no time for a Schengen visa - something to weigh when choosing a post, not at the last minute.

What happens after September 30

  • No DV-2026 visa by the end of Sep 30, 2026 - under 22 CFR 42.33 it cannot be issued after that date, and USCIS says DV visas cannot be carried over to the next fiscal year. Only a court ruling could change that.
  • On Sep 10, 2026 the Medani v. Trump court noted it makes no finding yet on whether it can preserve visa eligibility past September 30, citing Goodluck v. Biden (D.C. Circuit, 2024), which held courts lack that power. The plaintiffs' motion of Sep 24 was the only open item as of Sep 30.
  • DV-2027 visas run from Oct 1, 2026 to Sep 30, 2027 for selectees, but the State Department has not announced DV-2027 registration; Red Eagle Law v. Rubio on this awaits a ruling on Oct 14, 2026. Other routes are on the DV alternatives page.

The status of every case is on the court-cases page

Documents and fees for the DV interview: what the State Department and embassy handouts require

State Department rules for any DV year (checked Sep 30, 2026 on travel.state.gov) and what the embassy handouts from the chats add: the US Embassy in Georgia DV document list, the US Embassy Bishkek immigrant visa instructions and the US Consulate General Sydney handout on what happens after issuance (August 2024).

  • Nothing is mailed to the KCC. Since DV-2024 only the DS-260 for you and each family member goes to the Kentucky Consular Center; originals or certified copies with translations are brought to the interview. Paper mailed to the KCC is destroyed.
  • Police certificates - from age 16. Required from the country of nationality if you lived there over 6 months, the country of current residence over 6 months, any earlier country of residence over 12 months (all from age 16), and any country of arrest regardless of time or age. It must cover the whole period and every arrest with its outcome, under every name you have used. It is valid for 2 years if you still live in that country. No US certificates are needed.
  • Military record and school diploma. Anyone who served in any country's military submits a copy of the military record; the Georgia handout asks men 18 and over for proof of service or non-service. The principal applicant brings the original diploma with a translation; an embassy may require it to be verified by the national education authority (as the Georgia handout does).
  • A separate set for each person. Passport (the handouts ask for 6 to 12 months of validity), a 5 x 5 cm photo, birth, marriage, divorce, former-spouse death and name-change certificates with English translations; a certificate of non-marriage from age 18 where the post requires it; a notarized consent for a child under 14 travelling with one parent; proof of relationship for family members added after the entry; financial documents; the medical results in a sealed envelope. Each family member gets a set in the embassy's list order; children attend the interview at any age.
  • After the visa is issued. A DV visa is valid for up to 6 months, less if the medical expires sooner. The sealed packet stays closed and goes to the CBP officer at the border. The USCIS Immigrant Fee is paid after issuance and before travel. The handouts advise selling a home, quitting a job or buying non-refundable tickets only once the visa is in hand; after September 30 of the program year a visa is neither issued nor reissued.

Documents: State Department: DV program pages "Prepare Supporting Documents", "Confirm Your Qualifications", "After the Interview"; the visa fees page - checked Sep 30, 2026; US Embassy in Georgia: DV applicant document list (from the chats); US Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic: immigrant visa instructions and document list (in Russian, from the chats); US Consulate General Sydney: "What happens after my visa is issued", August 2024 (from the chats).

Frequently asked questions

Can a DV-2026 visa be issued after September 30, 2026?
Under 22 CFR 42.33 DV eligibility ends with the fiscal year, and after it a consular officer may not issue a visa under any circumstances; USCIS says the same about adjustment inside the US. The Medani v. Trump court issued no order holding numbers past Sep 30 and noted it makes no finding yet on whether it has that power.
Who is called for a re-interview?
Per the State Department cable of Sep 10, 2026 - those refused under 221(g) solely because of the pauses; priority to DV-2026 cases with interviews first set for Aug 23 - Sep 30. The Medani v. Trump class includes all DV-2026 selectees subject to the pauses, not only the plaintiffs.
Do I need to be a plaintiff for the ruling to help?
Under Medani v. Trump - no: the court certified a class of all DV-2026 selectees. Under Ivanov v. Trump relief went only to the named plaintiffs.
What about DV-2027?
The State Department has not announced DV-2027 registration. Red Eagle Law v. Rubio asks the court to resume the program; an oral ruling is set for Oct 14, 2026.

Where next

Consulates in community reports

WarsawAlmatyTashkentBishkekTbilisiYerevan

Sources

The Medani v. Trump orders (docket entries 83 and 93), the State Department report of Sep 21, 2026 and cable 26 STATE 88862 of Sep 10, 2026 (filed in CLINIC v. Rubio) were read from the federal courts' electronic records on Sep 30, 2026.

This page is reference, not legal advice; DV deadlines are strict and court rulings can land any day - check your consulate's letters and the pages on uscis.gov.