CA6 on jurisdictional/claim processing rules, deference

Shweika v. USCIS, No. 12-1645 (CA6 July 25, 2013) (published)

This case involved an appeal from a district court decision dismissing a 1421(c) naturalization appeal.  The district court found that it lacked jurisdiction because the applicant failed to exhaust his administrative remedies by walking out of an administrative naturalization appeal interview.

This decision is of note for several reasons, including:

1. Its discussion of jurisdictional limitations versus claim processing rules and how to determine which is which.  This can help in other cases, such as those involving a failure to file a timely appeal or motion.

2. Its determination that the regulations are not owed deference because the federal court, not the agency, gets to determine the scope of the court's jurisdiction.