By: Derek Hawkins//December 13, 2017//
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: Elena Matushkina, et al. Kirstjen M. Nielsen, et al.
Case No.: 17-1336
Officials: MANION, KANNE, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.
Focus: Immigration
Plaintiffs Elena Matushkina and her daughter Svetlana Son filed this suit against federal officials after a U.S. Consulate denied Matushkina’s immigrant visa application in 2015. The well-established doctrine of consular nonreviewability makes it impossible, or nearly so, for plaintiffs to challenge the visa denial. Plaintiffs insist that their suit does not challenge the visa denial. Instead, they seek relief under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) from the government’s determination that Matushkina was inadmissible when she tried to enter the country back in 2009. The district court dismissed for lack of standing.
This is one of those cases where the line between standing and the merits is rather fine but makes little practical difference. We affirm the dismissal but we do so on the merits rather than for lack of standing. The case is in essence a challenge to the visa denial, and that decision is not subject to judicial review.
Affirmed