Goldhar v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection et al., No. 1:21-cv-23197-BB (S.D. Fla., filed Sept. 3, 2021)

Plaintiff Gaby Or Goldhar, a citizen of Israel, challenges U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s wrongful cancellation of her B-2 visitor visa in 2019. When entering the United States through the Miami International Airport on July 15, 2019, a CBP officer cancelled Ms. Goldhar’s B-2 visa based on an erroneous determination that she had accrued unlawful presence during her prior visits to the United States and thus was inadmissible. Ultimately, CBP acknowledged its mistake and admitted Ms. Goldhar into the United States after waiving the visa requirement on a Form I-193. However, because the visa in her passport was physically invalidated, Ms. Goldhar has been unable to travel to the United States ever since. Although she was invited to apply for a replacement visa, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly restricted U.S. consular operations abroad, resulting in extremely long wait times for visa processing. Ms. Goldhar wishes to attend her grandson’s bar mitzvah in Florida in January 2022, but she likely will be unable to obtain a new B-2 visa by then.

Ms. Goldhar claims that CBP’s wrongful cancellation of her visa violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), as it constituted agency action that was “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law.” 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). Among other things, she requests that the district court order CBP to “immediately take such correction action as may be appropriate, including, but not limited to, reversing the cancellation of [her] B-2 visa” and “treating it as a valid entry document through its stated expiration date.”

On November 8, 2021, Plaintiff filed an expedited motion for summary judgment. Defendants filed motions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and a response to the expedited motion in November. Parties reached a settlement on December 2, 2021 and the case was administratively closed.

Documents:

Complaint

Counsel: David Elliott Gluckman | McCandlish Holton PC

Tammy Jean Fox-Isicoff | Rifkin & Fox-Isicoff, P.A.

Contact: David Gluckman | 804-775-3826 | dgluckman@lawmh.com