Kerry v. Din

Whether the spouse of a non-citizen has a protected liberty interest in the denial of a visa to the non-citizen and whether a person can challenge the denial or a visa and require the government to list specific reasons for denial.

In 2006, Respondent, an American citizen, and a citizen of Afghanistan, were married. The Afghan citizen applied for a visa, and in 2008 the visa petition was approved. Later, the National Visa Center scheduled an interview at the embassy in Pakistan. There, the Pakistan citizen informed the interviewers that he had previously worked for the government when the Taliban were in control of Pakistan. He received notice denying his visa petition because his prior work was considered “terrorist activities.”

Petitioner filed against the government for the denial. The district court granted the government’s motion to dismiss. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the decision holding that the government did not have specific allegations of terrorism, which is not a valid reason to deny a visa petition for reasons of “terrorist activities.”

The government petitioned to the United States Supreme Court, alleging that no additional review or reasons for denying a petition on the basis of “terrorist activities” is necessary. Additionally, the government argues that Respondent has no protected liberty interest in the visa. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether an American citizen has a liberty interest in the denial of a visa petition filed by a non-citizen spouse and whether the government must give specific reasons for denial of a visa on the basis of “terrorist activities.”