Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Department of State, et al. v. Sandra Muñoz, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 21-55365 · judgment October 5, 2022
Before the decision, about 15.3× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a federal-government petitioner, counsel who has won certiorari before, and a Ninth Circuit decision below.
Questions presented
Granted limited to questions 1 and 2 presented by the petition. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., the decision to grant or deny a visa application rests with a consular officer in the Department of State. Under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(A)(ii), any noncitizen whom a consular officer "knows, or has reasonable ground to believe, seeks to enter the United States to engage solely, principally, or incidentally in* * * unlawful activity" is ineligible to receive a visa or be admitted to the United States. The questions presented are:
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Whether a consular officer's refusal of a visa to a U.S. citizen's noncitizen spouse impinges upon a constitutionally protected interest of the citizen.
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Whether, assuming that such a constitutional interest exists, notifying a visa applicant that he was deemed inadmissible under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(A)(ii) suffices to provide any process that is due.
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Whether, assuming that such a constitutional interest exists and that citing Section 1182(a)(3)(A)(ii) is insufficient standing alone, due process requires the government to provide a further factual basis for the visa denial "within a reasonable time," or else forfeit the ability to invoke consular nonreviewability in court.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General
For respondent
Eric Thompson Lee
Diamante Law Group
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Amicus briefs
16 merits
(1 supporting pet./neither, 15 respondent)
Argument & decision
Argued April 23, 2024 — Curtis E. Gannon · Eric T. Lee. Audio and transcript
Decided June 21, 2024. Opinion by Barrett.
Proceedings
- Jul 23 2024Judgment Issued.
- Jun 21 2024Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Barrett, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh, JJ., joined. Gorsuch, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Sotomayor, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Kagan and Jackson, JJ., joined.
- Apr 23 2024Argued. For petitioners: Curtis E. Gannon, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondents: Eric T. Lee, Southfeld, Mich.
- Apr 12 2024Reply of petitioners Department of State, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Apr 02 2024Record received electronically from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and available with the Clerk.
- Mar 28 2024Brief amici curiae of International Refugee Assistance Project, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2024Brief amici curiae of 35 Members of Congress filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2024Brief amici curiae of ACLU, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2024Brief amici curiae of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2024Brief amici curiae of The American Immigration Lawyers Association and The American Immigration Council filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2024Brief amici curiae of Former Consular Officers filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2024Brief amici curiae of Migrant Rights Initiative, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2024Brief amici curiae of Immigration Law and History Scholars filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2024Brief amici curiae of Professors and Scholars filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2024Brief amicus curiae of HEAL Refugee Health and Asylum Collaborative filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2024Brief amici curiae of Former Department of Homeland Security Officials filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2024Brief amici curiae of Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2024Brief amicus curiae of The American Bar Association filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 27 2024CIRCULATED
- Mar 27 2024Brief amicus curiae of HIAS Inc. filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 27 2024Brief amicus curiae of Public Citizen filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 21 2024Brief of respondents Sandra Muñoz, et al. filed.
- Feb 26 2024Brief amicus curiae of Immigration Reform Law Institute filed.
- Feb 21 2024Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
- Feb 20 2024Brief of petitioners Department of State, et al. filed.
- Feb 20 2024Joint appendix filed. (Statement of cost filed.)
- Feb 16 2024SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
- Jan 12 2024Petition GRANTED limited to Questions 1 and 2 presented by the petition.
- Jan 12 2024As Rule 34.6 provides, “If the Court schedules briefing and oral argument in a case that was governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(c) or Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 49.1(c), the parties shall submit electronic versions of all prior and subsequent filings with this Court in the case, subject to [applicable] redaction rules.” Subsequent party and amicus filings in the case should now be submitted through the Court’s electronic filing system, with any necessary redactions.
- Jan 08 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/12/2024.
- Dec 13 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/5/2024.
- Dec 13 2023Reply of petitioners Department of State, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Nov 28 2023Brief of respondents Sandra Muñoz, et al. in opposition filed.
- Oct 18 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 29, 2023.
- Oct 17 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 30, 2023 to November 29, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
- Sep 29 2023Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 30, 2023)
- Sep 29 2023Pursuant to Rule 34.6 and Paragraph 9 of the Guidelines for the Submission of Documents to the Supreme Court's Electronic Filing System, filings in this case should be submitted in paper form only, and should not be submitted through the Court's electronic filing system.