The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently heard the case of Gebre v. U.S. Department of State. The court granted the State Department’s motion to dismiss, citing that it does not have the power to grant relief due to the expiration of the fiscal year of a diversity visa.

Plaintiff Engidashet W. Gebre sought an order in a write of mandamus against the Department of State to compel them to issue an immigrant visa to his wife, Tegebelu. Gebre is an Ethiopian immigrant who was granted a visa lottery for U.S. citizenship. When he initially applied, Gebre was single, and thusly listed no one as accompanying him to the U.S.

On April 21, 2001, approximately six weeks after his visa notification, Gebre married Tegebelu. On August 13, 2002, Gebre went to the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia for the required U.S. immigration interview. He brought along his new wife, who applied for a derivative visa at that time. The proper procedure to add a relative to a visa application (as a derivative) is to notify the U.S. Department of State that the primary applicant is now married; Gebre and Tegbelu did just that.

The Department of State was reluctant to issue Tegebelu a visa because they questioned whether the marriage was bona fide rather than opportunistically entered in order to confer an immigration benefit. There were only six weeks left in the U.S. fiscal year, so the State Dept. argues that there was not enough time to verify the facts provided in the application. Therefore, it simply sent back Tegebelu’s application fee and declined to give her a visa.

Citing Enwonwu v. Gonzales, the Court indicated its hesitance in giving an immigration statute too expansive a reading:

Over no conceivable subject is the legislative power of Congress more complete than it is over the admission of aliens. Our cases have long recognized the power to expel or exclude aliens as a fundamental sovereign attribute exercised by the Government’s political departments largely immune from judicial control.

This sentiment was echoed in other Supreme Court Cases, like Fiallo v. Bell :