Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/20-979_h3ci.pdf
Page Number: 23

2 

PATEL v. GARLAND 

GORSUCH, J., dissenting 

I 
A 

Pankajkumar  Patel  has  lived  in  the  United  States  for 
nearly  30  years.  He  and  his  wife  Jyotsnaben  Patel  cur-
rently reside in Georgia.  They have three sons—one who is
already a U. S. citizen, and two who are lawful permanent 
residents  and  spouses  of  U. S.  citizens.    As  a  young  man, 
Mr.  Patel  entered  the  country  illegally.    But  in  2007,  he 
tried to make things right by applying for an adjustment of 
his immigration status to a lawful permanent resident (also 
known as a green card).

Mr. Patel had at least some reason to hope.  The Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (INA) expressly authorizes the
Attorney General to grant relief in cases like his.  The stat-
ute sets forth a two-step process.  At the first step, the gov-
ernment must determine if an individual is statutorily eli-
gible  for  an  adjustment  of  status.   Various  circumstances 
specified by law, including prior criminal convictions, may 
render  an  applicant  ineligible  for  relief.  See  8  U. S. C. 
§§ 1255(i)(2)(A), 1182.  At the second step, once an individ-
ual  has  established  his  statutory  eligibility  for  relief,  the
Attorney General or his designee is entitled to grant or deny
an  adjustment  of  status  “in  his  discretion.”    §§ 1255(a),
(i)(2); see also 8 CFR § 1240.1(a) (2021) (delegating this au-
thority to immigration judges).  Because this second step is
discretionary, “mere eligibility” for relief does not “automat-
ically result in a grant of the application.”  Matter of Arai, 
13  I. & N. Dec.  494,  495  (BIA  1970).  Instead,  “the  actual 
granting of relief . . . is in all cases a matter of grace.”  INS 
v.  St.  Cyr,  533  U. S.  289,  308  (2001)  (internal  quotation
marks omitted). 

Seeking relief under this scheme, Mr. Patel filed an ap-
plication with the necessary paperwork.  Soon, the govern-
ment responded by returning a document allowing Mr. Pa-
tel to continue to work and remain in the country while it 
processed his application.  So far, so good.