Bouarfa v. Mayorkas
Issues
Can a visa petitioner challenge an immigration visa revocation decision in court if the revocation is based on the incorrect application of non-discretionary criteria?
The questions for the Supreme Court to consider are: first, whether USCIS can revoke a visa petition on discretionary grounds based on non-discretionary reasoning; second, whether courts can examine this decision to revoke a visa petition; and third, whether an applicant can order a review of a court’s petition denial. Petitioner Amina Bouarfa argues that courts should be able to review discretionary USCIS decisions where the premise for the decision is non-discretionary, and that an applicant is entitled to a court review these decisions. Respondents Alejandro Mayorkas and the Department of Homeland Security counter that the plain statutory language of immigration law prohibits Article III court review of these discretionary decisions; and, instead, USCIS has control over reviewing and reversing immigration decisions. The outcome of this case will influence the balance of power between the executive and judicial branches.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether a visa petitioner may obtain judicial review when an approved petition is revoked on the basis of non-discretionary criteria.
In 2014, Petitioner Amina Bouarfa, a U.S. citizen, filed an I-130 immediate relative visa petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (“the agency”), on behalf of her husband, Ala’a Hamayel, a noncitizen from Palestine. Bouarfa v. Mayorkas at 2–3. Upon approval from USCIS, an I-130 petition allows a U.S.
Additional Resources
- Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson, US Supreme Court to Review ‘Sham Marriage’ Immigration Finding, Bloomberg Law (April 29, 2024).
- Nicole Arata, Judicial Review of Visa Petition Revocations: A “Precedential Cascade,” Boston College Law Review (April 23, 2021).
- Jimmy Hoover, Supreme Court Will Review Revoked Visa of US Woman’s Palestinian Husband, The National Law Journal (April 30, 2024).