Avram Morell

Partner Avram Morell, a member of Pryor Cashman’s Immigration Group, spoke with Law360 for its story, “Attys React To Term's Final High Court Immigration Rulings.”  The article features comments from prominent immigration attorneys on the U.S. Supreme Court’s two key June 15, 2015 decisions.

In Mata v. Lynch, the Court ruled that an appeallate court can review the Board of Immigration Appeals' refusal to toll a bid to reopen a removal case based on poor lawyering.

In Kerry v. Din, the Court upheld the concept of consular nonreviewability by ruling that visa refusals cannot be subjected to court scrutiny and the denial of a visa to a U.S. citizen's spouse does not impact the citizen's own constitutionally protected interest.

With respect to Din, Morell told Law360: "Din is significant because it unfortunately reiterates and reinforces the courts’ unwillingness to second-guess the judgment of consular officers, except in the most limited of circumstances. As a result, an individual who believes her visa application was wrongly denied — even when the error is blatant — has no recourse other than to reapply to the same consular unit that initially denied the application. Also, this case is another example of 'bad facts making bad law.' We may understand a broad application of the doctrine of 'consular nonreviewability' in a fact pattern, such as this one, which potentially raises national security concerns. But many erroneous visa denials are based on an incorrect reading or application of the law and involve individuals who pose no harm to the United States or its citizens. Those people’s chances of getting a court to consider the appropriateness of a visa denial just got smaller.”

To read the full article, please click here.