Opinion ID: 3037057
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: “Although the parties did not raise the question of our jurisdiction, we have raised it sua sponte, as we must.” WMX Tech. Inc. v. Miller, 104 F.3d 1133, 1135 (9th Cir. 1997). Notwithstanding the REAL ID Act’s limitation on appellate review, see § 1252, we conclude that we have jurisdiction to 4520 FREEMAN v. GONZALES review Mrs. Freeman’s purely legal claim that the district director violated her due process rights by improperly interpreting § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i) to determine that she was no longer the “spouse” of a U.S. citizen and therefore not entitled to adjustment of status. See Wong v. INS, 373 F.3d 952, 963 (9th Cir. 2004) (“[D]ecisions made on a purely legal basis may be reviewed, as they do not turn on discretionary judgment. . . . [The § 1252(a)(2)(B) bar on review of discretionary decisions does not apply to cases] rais[ing] only constitutional or purely legal, nondiscretionary challenges to the decisions in question.”). Purely legal questions, such as the proper definition of “spouse” under § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i), are reviewed de novo. See De Martinez v. Ashcroft, 374 F.3d 759, 761 (9th Cir. 2004).