The Legal Aid Society filed a coalitional amicus brief in support of Plaintiff-Appellant Cristian Rodriguez and the need for judicial review of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) U visa adjudications. U nonimmigrant visas are available to survivors of certain enumerated crimes who cooperate with law enforcement. The vast majority of U visa applicants, including many of Legal Aid’s clients, must file a waiver of inadmissibility alongside their visa application. In Mr. Rodriguez’s case, a federal trial court held that it could not review USCIS’s denial of his visa and waiver applications because they constituted discretionary agency decision-making. In our brief, we provided anonymized client stories which showed how frequently USCIS makes nondiscretionary legal errors while adjudicating U visa applications and waivers of inadmissibility and the harm that would be caused to our clients if USCIS decisions were insulated from judicial review.

In 2024, the Second Circuit agreed with our analysis that federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction to review USCIS application denials but affirmed USCIS’s initial denial of Mr. Rodriguez.