Opinion ID: 152376
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Jurisdiction to Review an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

Text: The government argues this court lacks jurisdiction over all decisions by USCIS, except where specifically conferred by the Immigration and Nationality Act. However, we long ago decided the district courts have jurisdiction to review a decision on the merits of an I-130 petition to classify an alien as a relative of a United States citizen. Sabhari v. Reno, 197 F.3d 938, 943 (8th Cir.1999). In Sabhari, we found the district court had jurisdiction to hear a complaint for injunctive relief brought after the government denied Sabhari's petition for alien relative on the basis that Sabhari had entered into a fraudulent marriage. Id. at 941. We consider this question again only for the limited purpose of determining whether the jurisdictional bar of 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii), enacted subsequent to our decision in Sabhari, removed our jurisdiction to review a petition for alien relative. In light of the Supreme Court's decision in Kucana, we find the jurisdictional bar of 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii) does not preclude judicial review of the denial of an I-130 petition. A number of circuits have considered this issue since Ginters I was decided and have found the courts retain jurisdiction to review denials of I-130 petitions. See Ayanbadejo v. Chertoff, 517 F.3d 273, 277-78 (5th Cir.2008), Ruiz v. Mukasey, 552 F.3d 269, 274-276 (2d Cir. 2009), and Ogbolumani v. Napolitano, 557 F.3d 729, 733 (7th Cir.2009). Under long-established principles, there is a strong presumption in favor of judicial review of administrative action unless otherwise precluded by statute. Ismailov v. Reno, 263 F.3d 851, 854 (8th Cir. 2001). 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B) removes from judicial review denials of discretionary relief stating: Notwithstanding any other provision of law (statutory or nonstatutory), including section 2241 of Title 28, or any other habeas corpus provision, and sections 1361 and 1651 of such title, and except as provided in subparagraph (D), and regardless of whether the judgment, decision, or action is made in removal proceedings, no court shall have jurisdiction to review . . . (ii) any other decision or action of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority for which is specified under this subchapter to be in the discretion of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security, other than the granting of relief under section 1158(a) of this title [asylum]. Before the Supreme Court's decision in Kucana, most circuits had found the language granting discretion to the Attorney General must appear in the statute itself for the jurisdictional bar to apply. See Khan v. Att'y Gen., 448 F.3d 226, 231-33 (3d Cir.2006) (In our view, the Second, Fifth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals have adopted the correct reading of § 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii).). However, the Eighth Circuit had concluded that whenever a regulation implementing a subchapter II statute confers discretion upon an IJ, IIRIRA generally divests courts of jurisdiction to review the exercise of that discretion. Onyinkwa v. Ashcroft, 376 F.3d 797, 799 (8th Cir.2004). The Supreme Court in Kucana required that the discretionary nature of the decision be found in the statute itself in order for the jurisdictional bar to apply. See Hernandez v. Holder, 606 F.3d 900, 903 (8th Cir. 2010) (the Supreme Court held in Kucana that section 1252(a)(2)(B)'s `proscription of judicial review' only `applies ... to Attorney General determinations made discretionary by statute' and not those `determinations declared discretionary by the Attorney General himself through regulation.' 130 S.Ct. at 831. This court has already recognized the impact of Kucana on our precedent, stating that it `effectively overruled our decision in Onyinkwa. '). The statutory provision creating the I-130 process directs that the Attorney General, [a]fter an investigation of the facts in each case[,] shall, if he determines that the facts stated in the petition are true and that the alien in behalf of whom the petition is made is an immediate relative specified in section 1151(b) of this title or is eligible for preference under subsection (a) or (b) of section 1153 of this title, approve the petition and forward one copy thereof to the Department of State. The Secretary of State shall then authorize the consular officer concerned to grant the preference status. 8 U.S.C. § 1154(b) (emphasis added). Under 8 U.S.C. § 1154(c), an alien who has entered into a previous marriage for immigration purposes is not eligible for approval of an I-130 filed on his behalf. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section no petition shall be approved if (1) the alien has previously been accorded, or has sought to be accorded, an immediate relative or preference status as the spouse of a citizen of the United States or the spouse of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, by reason of a marriage determined by the Attorney General to have been entered into for the purpose of evading the immigration laws. 8 U.S.C. § 1154(c) (emphasis added). The use of the word shall in both sections indicates the Attorney General does not have discretion with regard to either granting an I-130 petition or denying one in the case of marriage fraud. The government argues the statute makes this act discretionary because it requires the Attorney General to determine whether someone is an alien relative and whether a marriage was entered into for the purpose of evading immigration laws. The government relied on language in Suvorov v. Gonzales, 441 F.3d 618, (8th Cir.2006), Ignatova v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 1209, 1213 (8th Cir.2005), and Ebrahim v. Gonzales, 471 F.3d 880 (8th Cir.2006) for the proposition that a determination of the existence of a sham marriage is discretionary. However, in all three of those cases this court was asked to review the denial of a waiver under 8 U.S.C. § 1186a(c)(4), a section which explicitly states all determinations under that provision, including evidentiary determinations, are within the sole discretion of the Attorney General. The statutory provisions at issue here contain no such language. In addition, interpreting the statutory language as the government advocates would force this court to classify every decision involving fact-finding by the Attorney General as discretionary and would remove all such decisions from judicial review. That is not a reasonable interpretation in light of the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act itself setting forth our standard of review for factual determinations in removal proceedings. See 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B) (the administrative findings of fact are conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the contrary). The district court declined to reach the merits of the Ginters's claims with respect to the denial of their I-130 petition for alien relative because there had been no change in the law when it rendered its decision on the issue of collateral estoppel. However, the Supreme Court has since abrogated the Eighth Circuit's approach to the bar to review of discretionary decisions under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii). We, therefore, reverse and remand this case to the district court for consideration of the merits of the underlying action.