diff --git a/src/DurableTask.AzureStorage/Messaging/ControlQueue.cs b/src/DurableTask.AzureStorage/Messaging/ControlQueue.cs
index 9f1c0d2ba..6a791ea3e 100644
--- a/src/DurableTask.AzureStorage/Messaging/ControlQueue.cs
+++ b/src/DurableTask.AzureStorage/Messaging/ControlQueue.cs
@@ -19,10 +19,12 @@ namespace DurableTask.AzureStorage.Messaging
     using System.Linq;
     using System.Threading;
     using System.Threading.Tasks;
+    using Azure;
     using Azure.Storage.Queues.Models;
     using DurableTask.AzureStorage.Monitoring;
     using DurableTask.AzureStorage.Partitioning;
     using DurableTask.AzureStorage.Storage;
+    using DurableTask.Core;
 
     class ControlQueue : TaskHubQueue, IDisposable
     {
@@ -209,6 +211,51 @@ public override Task AbandonMessageAsync(MessageData message, SessionBase? sessi
             return base.AbandonMessageAsync(message, session);
         }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Abandons a message with zero visibility timeout so it becomes immediately visible
+        /// for another partition owner to pick up. This is used during drain to avoid stranding
+        /// messages that were dequeued but not yet promoted to active sessions.
+        /// </summary>
+        public async Task AbandonMessageForDrainAsync(MessageData message, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+        {
+            this.stats.PendingOrchestratorMessages.TryRemove(message.OriginalQueueMessage.MessageId, out _);
+
+            QueueMessage queueMessage = message.OriginalQueueMessage;
+            TaskMessage taskMessage = message.TaskMessage;
+            OrchestrationInstance instance = taskMessage.OrchestrationInstance;
+
+            this.settings.Logger.AbandoningMessage(
+                this.storageAccountName,
+                this.settings.TaskHubName,
+                taskMessage.Event.EventType.ToString(),
+                Utils.GetTaskEventId(taskMessage.Event),
+                queueMessage.MessageId,
+                instance.InstanceId,
+                instance.ExecutionId,
+                this.storageQueue.Name,
+                message.SequenceNumber,
+                queueMessage.PopReceipt,
+                visibilityTimeoutSeconds: 0);
+
+            try
+            {
+                await this.storageQueue.UpdateMessageAsync(
+                    queueMessage,
+                    TimeSpan.Zero,
+                    clientRequestId: null,
+                    cancellationToken: cancellationToken);
+            }
+            catch (Exception e)
+            {
+                this.settings.Logger.PartitionManagerWarning(
+                    this.storageAccountName,
+                    this.settings.TaskHubName,
+                    this.settings.WorkerId,
+                    this.Name,
+                    $"Failed to abandon message {queueMessage.MessageId} during drain: {e}");
+            }
+        }
+
         public override Task DeleteMessageAsync(MessageData message, SessionBase? session = null)
         {
             this.stats.PendingOrchestratorMessages.TryRemove(message.OriginalQueueMessage.MessageId, out _);
diff --git a/src/DurableTask.AzureStorage/OrchestrationSessionManager.cs b/src/DurableTask.AzureStorage/OrchestrationSessionManager.cs
index abf7a58b2..6d0a48c2c 100644
--- a/src/DurableTask.AzureStorage/OrchestrationSessionManager.cs
+++ b/src/DurableTask.AzureStorage/OrchestrationSessionManager.cs
@@ -216,11 +216,83 @@ public async Task DrainAsync(string partitionId, CloseReason reason, Cancellatio
             }
             finally
             {
-                // Remove the partition from memory
+                // Make dequeued-but-undispatched messages visible before dropping the partition.
+                try
+                {
+                    await this.AbandonPendingMessagesAsync(partitionId, cancellationToken);
+                }
+                catch (OperationCanceledException) when (cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
+                {
+                    this.settings.Logger.PartitionManagerWarning(
+                        this.storageAccountName,
+                        this.settings.TaskHubName,
+                        this.settings.WorkerId,
+                        partitionId,
+                        "Canceled while abandoning pending messages during drain.");
+                }
+                catch (Exception e)
+                {
+                    this.settings.Logger.PartitionManagerWarning(
+                        this.storageAccountName,
+                        this.settings.TaskHubName,
+                        this.settings.WorkerId,
+                        partitionId,
+                        $"Failed to abandon pending messages during drain: {e}");
+                }
+
                 this.RemoveQueue(partitionId, reason, caller);
             }
         }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Abandons all pending (dequeued but not yet dispatched) messages for the specified partition,
+        /// making them immediately visible in the Azure Storage queue for the new partition owner.
+        /// This prevents a throughput gap equal to the visibility timeout duration when a partition
+        /// is released during drain.
+        /// </summary>
+        async Task AbandonPendingMessagesAsync(string partitionId, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+        {
+            var messagesToAbandon = new List<(ControlQueue Queue, MessageData Message)>();
+
+            lock (this.messageAndSessionLock)
+            {
+                var node = this.pendingOrchestrationMessageBatches.First;
+                while (node != null)
+                {
+                    LinkedListNode<PendingMessageBatch>? next = node.Next;
+                    PendingMessageBatch batch = node.Value;
+
+                    if (string.Equals(batch.ControlQueue.Name, partitionId, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                    {
+                        foreach (MessageData message in batch.Messages)
+                        {
+                            messagesToAbandon.Add((batch.ControlQueue, message));
+                        }
+
+                        this.pendingOrchestrationMessageBatches.Remove(node);
+                    }
+
+                    node = next;
+                }
+            }
+
+            if (messagesToAbandon.Count > 0)
+            {
+                cancellationToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
+
+                this.settings.Logger.PartitionManagerInfo(
+                    this.storageAccountName,
+                    this.settings.TaskHubName,
+                    this.settings.WorkerId,
+                    partitionId,
+                    $"Abandoning {messagesToAbandon.Count} pending message(s) during drain to make them immediately visible for the new partition owner.");
+
+                await messagesToAbandon.ParallelForEachAsync(
+                    this.settings.MaxStorageOperationConcurrency,
+                    item => item.Queue.AbandonMessageForDrainAsync(item.Message, cancellationToken));
+            }
+        }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// This method enumerates all the provided queue messages looking for ExecutionStarted messages. If any are found, it
         /// queries table storage to ensure that each message has a matching record in the Instances table. If not, this method
@@ -592,6 +664,12 @@ async Task ScheduleOrchestrationStatePrefetch(
 
                 lock (this.messageAndSessionLock)
                 {
+                    // Drain may have removed this batch after it was queued for dispatch.
+                    if (node.List != this.pendingOrchestrationMessageBatches)
+                    {
+                        continue;
+                    }
+
                     PendingMessageBatch nextBatch = node.Value;
                     this.pendingOrchestrationMessageBatches.Remove(node);
 
diff --git a/Test/DurableTask.AzureStorage.Tests/OrchestrationSessionTests.cs b/test/DurableTask.AzureStorage.Tests/OrchestrationSessionTests.cs
similarity index 70%
rename from Test/DurableTask.AzureStorage.Tests/OrchestrationSessionTests.cs
rename to test/DurableTask.AzureStorage.Tests/OrchestrationSessionTests.cs
index 126c4b9bc..65014a67c 100644
--- a/Test/DurableTask.AzureStorage.Tests/OrchestrationSessionTests.cs
+++ b/test/DurableTask.AzureStorage.Tests/OrchestrationSessionTests.cs
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ namespace DurableTask.AzureStorage.Tests
     using System.Diagnostics;
     using System.Linq;
     using System.Reflection;
+    using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
     using System.Threading;
     using System.Threading.Tasks;
     using DurableTask.AzureStorage.Messaging;
@@ -223,5 +224,91 @@ public void AbortAllSessions_NoSessions_DoesNotThrow()
             manager.GetStats(out _, out _, out int count);
             Assert.AreEqual(0, count, "Should still have no active sessions");
         }
+
+        [TestMethod]
+        public async Task GetNextSessionAsync_DrainedReadyQueueNode_IsIgnored()
+        {
+            var settings = new AzureStorageOrchestrationServiceSettings();
+            var stats = new AzureStorageOrchestrationServiceStats();
+            var trackingStore = new Mock<ITrackingStore>();
+
+            using var manager = new OrchestrationSessionManager(
+                "testaccount",
+                settings,
+                stats,
+                trackingStore.Object);
+
+            var controlQueue = CreateControlQueueWithoutStorage();
+
+            object pendingBatch = CreatePendingBatch(controlQueue);
+            object node = AddPendingBatchNode(manager, pendingBatch);
+            RemovePendingBatchNode(manager, node);
+            EnqueueReadyForProcessingNode(manager, node);
+
+            using var cts = new CancellationTokenSource(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(100));
+            try
+            {
+                await manager.GetNextSessionAsync(entitiesOnly: false, cts.Token);
+                Assert.Fail("Expected cancellation after the drained node was skipped.");
+            }
+            catch (OperationCanceledException)
+            {
+                Assert.IsTrue(true, "Operation cancellation was expected.");
+            }
+        }
+
+        static object CreatePendingBatch(ControlQueue controlQueue)
+        {
+            Type pendingBatchType = typeof(OrchestrationSessionManager)
+                .GetNestedType("PendingMessageBatch", BindingFlags.NonPublic);
+            Assert.IsNotNull(pendingBatchType);
+
+            object pendingBatch = Activator.CreateInstance(
+                pendingBatchType,
+                BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.NonPublic,
+                binder: null,
+                args: new object[] { controlQueue, "instance1", "execution1" },
+                culture: null);
+            Assert.IsNotNull(pendingBatch);
+            return pendingBatch;
+        }
+
+        static ControlQueue CreateControlQueueWithoutStorage()
+        {
+            return (ControlQueue)RuntimeHelpers.GetUninitializedObject(typeof(ControlQueue));
+        }
+
+        static object AddPendingBatchNode(OrchestrationSessionManager manager, object pendingBatch)
+        {
+            object pendingBatches = GetPrivateField(manager, "pendingOrchestrationMessageBatches");
+            MethodInfo addLast = pendingBatches.GetType().GetMethod("AddLast", new[] { pendingBatch.GetType() });
+            Assert.IsNotNull(addLast);
+            object node = addLast.Invoke(pendingBatches, new[] { pendingBatch });
+            Assert.IsNotNull(node);
+            return node;
+        }
+
+        static void RemovePendingBatchNode(OrchestrationSessionManager manager, object node)
+        {
+            object pendingBatches = GetPrivateField(manager, "pendingOrchestrationMessageBatches");
+            MethodInfo remove = pendingBatches.GetType().GetMethod("Remove", new[] { node.GetType() });
+            Assert.IsNotNull(remove);
+            remove.Invoke(pendingBatches, new[] { node });
+        }
+
+        static void EnqueueReadyForProcessingNode(OrchestrationSessionManager manager, object node)
+        {
+            object readyQueue = GetPrivateField(manager, "orchestrationsReadyForProcessingQueue");
+            MethodInfo enqueue = readyQueue.GetType().GetMethod("Enqueue");
+            Assert.IsNotNull(enqueue);
+            enqueue.Invoke(readyQueue, new[] { node });
+        }
+
+        static object GetPrivateField(object target, string fieldName)
+        {
+            FieldInfo field = target.GetType().GetField(fieldName, BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Instance);
+            Assert.IsNotNull(field);
+            return field.GetValue(target);
+        }
     }
 }