Trump’s Travel Ban Bumped Lottery Visa Winners, Judge Rules

The United States of America runs an annual “visa lottery,” in which thousands of people apply for a slim chance of being allowed to immigrate to America. This year, two Iranians and two Yemenis were among the winners, a fact that would normally not be a big deal. But this year is the year of Trump’s travel ban.

Donald Trump revised his executive order prohibiting nearly all travel to the US from certain countries just this past week. Iran and Yemen are among the countries affected. Now, Politico reports that Judge Tanya Chutkan (an Obama appointee) ruled that if the Supreme Court finds the travel ban unlawful, the lottery must save two visas for these winners.

This is a somewhat tricky proposition, as the Supreme Court doesn’t seem close to declaring the travel ban lawful or unlawful. The ruling could reignite the battle over the travel ban, which had been dormant while SCOTUS pretty much ignored it, hoping they could get by without making any definitive ruling. In fact, Axios reports that they were no longer taking oral arguments about the travel ban. But this case may make the whole question live again.