Patel v. U.S. Citizenship & Immigrations Servs.

Patel, a citizen of India, entered the U.S. on a one-year visitor’s visa in 1999. He overstayed and began looking for a job. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied his first petition for an employment visa in 2006 because the employer (Deluxe) was unable to pay the proffered wage, 8 C.F.R. 204.5(g)(2). In 2010 Peshtal offered him a job as Lodging Manager at an Indiana hotel. Peshtal did not apply for its own labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor, 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(3)(C), that there are no qualified U.S. workers available for the job and the alien’s employment “will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions” of other workers. Instead Peshtal sought an employment visa on Patel’s behalf, attaching the labor certification that Deluxe had received for the 2006 Michigan Lodging Manager position. CIS denied the petition. The district court dismissed an appeal for lack of prudential standing. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, stating that disembodied notions of statutory purpose cannot override what the statute actually says. The alien is the one who is entitled to the employment visa. The alien’s interest is within the zone of interests protected by the statute. Patel suffered an injury that is fairly traceable to CIS and that is redressable in this lawsuit. View "Patel v. U.S. Citizenship & Immigrations Servs." on Justia Law