Ninth Cir. Upholds Dismissal of Visa Holder’s Status Change Suit

Federal district courts aren’t authorized to review individualized determinations by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services on applications for status adjustments, the Ninth Circuit said.

Federal law strips courts of jurisdiction to review the discretionary denial of adjustment status for U visa holders, and requires challenges to go through a petitioning process that starts with proceedings before an immigration judge, Judge Daniel A. Bress of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said in a Tuesday opinion.

Linda Cabello Garcia, a Mexican citizen who came to the US in 1999, was granted a temporary visa in 2016. ...