Tongatapu Woodcraft Hawaii, Ltd. v. Sam I. Feldman, District Director, Immigration and Naturalization Service

Tongatapu Woodcraft Hawaii, Ltd. (Tongatapu) employs woodcarvers who dress in native garb and sell their wares to passing tourists. After failing to secure qualified workers domestically, Tongatapu applied to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS or Service) to obtain sixth preference visas for two experienced woodcarvers from Tonga. The INS granted the petitions but later revoked them on the ground that Tongatapu made material misrepresentations in its certification to the Department of Labor. Tongatapu then brought a declaratory judgment action against the INS, seeking reinstatement of the petitions. The district court granted summary judgment for Tongatapu, holding that the INS action was arbitrary and capricious or constituted an abuse of discretion. INS now appeals, and we reverse and remand.

I. BACKGROUND

Tongatapu is a very small Hawaii firm with the stated purpose of placing Tongan woodcarvers in areas with high tourist traffic, such as the International Market Place in Waikiki. Tongatapu expected its carvers to not only carve wood and sell the carvings but also to explain the carving technique and the cultural significance of the carvings to…