ASSE International, Inc. v. Kerry

Congress created the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) to allow foreign nationals to participate in temporary cultural and educational exchange programs in the United States. The Department of State administers the EVP, with the assistance of various third-party program sponsors. This case arises out of sanctions that the Department imposed against one of these sponsors, ASSE International (ASSE), for violating various regulations. ASSE challenged the Department’s sanctions decision in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, claiming that the agency had acted arbitrarily and capriciously in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and that it had violated ASSE’s due process rights under the Fifth Amendment. The district court dismissed the suit as unreviewable under the APA because the administration of the EVP is “committed to agency discretion by law.” 5 U.S.C. § 701 (a)(2). It also dismissed ASSE’s constitutional claims on the grounds that the process was “fundamentally fair.” We reverse as to both grounds.

I

In the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, Congress authorized the State Department, through the…