#DV2020 #DV2021 Update: the 3-judge panel for the Goodluck/Goh, Gomez, and Rai appeal has been selected:

•Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan (appointed by Obama)
•Judge Karen Henderson (appointed by GWB)
•Judge Gregory Katsas (appointed by Trump)

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT NOTE: I don't want to hear that any of my clients tried to contact any of these judges directly. That kind of contact is prohibited and could cause us a lot of problems.

#DV2022 #UAOvBiden Update: We have filed a notice of expedited appeal of Judge Chang's order denying our motions for expedited discovery and preliminary injunction.
Our legal team's focus now will be preparing the opening brief for this appeal. This is best thing we can do for UAO plaintiffs to maximize your chance at getting visas issued. We appreciate your patience while we do this work. 🙏

In related litigation, a victory for one case can often be the foundation for a victory in another. I bring this up because I see in Charles Kuck's #DV2022 case Bou Jabbour, Judge Mehta has ordered gov to produce statistics by August 24, with a status conference on 25th.
Could be good news.

Tip! New to the US and waiting for green card and social security card? Put the full names of everyone in your household on a label inside your mailbox so USPS knows they have the right address.

.@usembislamabad sent me the cryptic “have scheduled/are scheduling” script. My question was which is it? 🤷🏻‍♂️ #DV2022

US Embassy La Paz, Bolivia writes "All DV slots have already been given to the KCC for assignation for 2022." #DV2022

Sunny/Santos/Biden Update: In response to our filing letting the court know about Dhaka's slip on Facebook about “our tiered prioritization guidance,” Defendants have filed a letter with the court explaining that this is the embassy's tiered approach, not the Visa Office's. We hope Judge Cogan recognizes just how problematic that rebuttal is.

For those who want to follow our #UAOvBiden #DV2022 appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, we have a case number:
USCA Case No. 22-2471

US Embassy Ankara Update: over the last few days our team has been anxious due to government attorney suggesting to us that Ankara will be closed for some time while they relocate compounds.

Today we learned some applicants scheduled for Ankara appointments on or after Sept 1 have received this email, which suggest the move will not involve a prolonged disruption in interviews. Sorry for the confusion. 🙏

US Embassy Ankara update: the move to new embassy is expected to be complete on August 29:
https://tr.usembassy.gov/press-release/

#DV2020 #DV2021 Goodluck/Gomez/Rai Update: the court has issued this order laying how the format for who will be making arguments on September 16, and for how long.
Our Rafael Urena will be briefing three issues:
Issues:
1) State's prioritization of other visa categories above DVs
2) the Rai order's relief to non-plaintiffs
3) standing of DV2021 plaintiffs who court initially found lack standing

Here's 11 State Department cables sent from Secretary Blinken since November 2021 that we obtained through our FOIA litigation.

I've made a one observation on twitter already about impacts to #DV2022.
https://twitter.com/curtismorrison/status/1562148361804718080?s=20&t=U-f55y9zHI-BdLwCc1aV6w

#DV2022 Update. From Morgan Miles latest declaration, interviews had been scheduled for 70,436 prospective applicants with 838 additional cases sent to USCIS for adjustment of status processing as of August 18, 2022.

If you are a DV-2022 selectees whose DS-260 has been processed, but you have not been scheduled for interview, you are one of 14,543 selectees (31,559 applicants) in that same situation.

2 wks ago, State Department Defendant Julie Stufft told a huge lie: that visa applicants "can apply anywhere in the world where there's an appointment available."
In #TesfayevBlinken, the government now argues that was just a "generalized statement." 🤣

Today, on behalf of #UAOvBiden plaintiffs, we filed Plaintiff-Appellants’ Motion to Expedite Appeal. The Biden administration plans to file a written opposition. #DV2022

Gov Report on #DV2022 still not filed in Bou Jabbour. Gov has 10 more hours, but we checked anyway.

#DV2023 Tip: often DVs change their interview location with KCC and then KCC recommends unlocking DS-260 to update address. Until recently, we recommended against this unless there was a legitimate change of address because you generally don’t want to provide misinformation to State Department.

However, we have recently became aware of a case with a UAO plaintiff where KCC reversed the interview location to the original when the address was not changed in the DS-260, even though the selectee moved to the new country and is even a citizen of that country.

This has us scratching heads because it’s a situation where KCC seemingly wants applicant to provide misinformation.

Thus, we now recommend when you change your interview location, change your address in DS-260 to an address in the country where your new interview location will be. 🤷🏻‍♂️

August 25,2022 Update: after posting this, government attorneys informed me that the Interview location for the UAO plaintiff at issue had been changed to the desired embassy.

A reminder of something I like to call the Curtis Rule. When you are issued a visa and you have it in your hands, you go to the airport and you fly to the USA. Until you enter the USA with that visa, you are not a lawful permanent resident, and you are not protected by the US Constitution. It is only a piece of paper.

After the you enter the USA, if you need to return back to the old country for an extended visit, you can do that. That's fine.

When I shared this rule before Covid, people thought I was crazy. Now I think everyone understands that we cannot predict the next novel covid-strain, presidential proclamation, or border closure. Be smart. Follow the Curtis Rule. 🤓🛫

Gov report on #DV2022 in Bou Jabbour case has been filed. Now they're calling case numbers "Regional Rank Order," which seems misleading.

#UAOvBiden Update: UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT has issued an order setting a 5 PM Friday deadline for the government to file its response to our motion to expedite.