National Security Law Commons^™

Brief Of Amici Curiae Former Consular Officers In Support Of Respondent, Kerry V. Din, No. 13-1402 United States Supreme Court, Ira J. Kurzban, Edward F. Ramos, Jeffrey D. Kahn, Trina Realmuto

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This brief argues that certain visa application denials, particularly those based on information originating from agencies other than the Department of State, can be qualitatively different from denials based on consular discretion. Although the end result looks the same – “Visa Denied” – denials based on database and watchlist information maintained in the United States by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and other agencies, bear little resemblance to the traditional exercise of consular discretion because the specific information which requires the consular officer to deny these visas is usually not available for him or her to evaluate. Real …