Li Hing of Hong Kong, Inc., and Yee Lee Soon v. Burton Levin, Counsel General of the United States of America for Hong Kong

Li Hing of Hong Kong, Inc., a California corporation, sought to transfer its employee Yee Lee Soon from Hong Kong to the United States. It filed an L visa petition on behalf of Soon with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1184 (c). The District Director of the INS approved the petition and forwarded it to Burton Levin, the United States Consul in Hong Kong, for his consideration. Levin denied the visa pursuant to a decision that Soon was ineligible for a visa under 8 U.S.C. § 1184 (b), to wit: that Soon was presumed to be an intending immigrant and that he had failed to establish that he was a bona fide nonimmigrant.

Appellants filed an action seeking, among other relief, an order directing Lev-in to issue a visa to Soon. Levin filed a motion to dismiss, contending in part that the district court lacked jurisdiction to review the acts of consular officials in determining whether or not to issue a visa. The district court granted the motion. We affirm.

The doctrine of nonreviewability of a consul’s decision to grant or deny a visa stems from the Supreme Court’s confirming that the legislative power of Congress over the admission of aliens is…