Medical Escort’s Visa Denial Not Up for Review, Judge Rules

A State Department decision to deny a temporary business visa to a medical escort from the Philippines isn’t reviewable by a federal court, a judge ruled.

Under the “doctrine of consular nonreviewability” of visa decisions, courts can’t second guess a consular officer’s decision to grant or deny a visa application, Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled Thursday. This means she can’t review the State Department’s decision to deny a B-1 visa for home health aide Leslie Castigador Tabbada.

While there is a narrow exception to the doctrine, where a visa is ...