Alzokari v. Pompeo

Summary

The Second Circuit held that the State Department's revocation of a naturalized citizen's passport was arbitrary and capricious under the APA because the citizen used the name and birthdate from his uncontested certificate of naturalization. Using a legal name from naturalization documents cannot constitute passport fraud, even if the citizen previously used a different name; the Department must pursue denaturalization proceedings if it suspects fraud in naturalization, rather than revoking the passport. The court reversed the district court and ordered the return of the passport, leaving open unresolved due process issues regarding burden of proof in passport revocation hearings.

Holdings

1. The Department cannot revoke a passport on that basis. The Department's passport revocation was arbitrary, capricious, and not in accordance with law.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Department of State's revocation of Alzokari's passport was arbitrary and capricious under the APA when Alzokari applied for his passport using the legal name and birthdate on his uncontested certificate of naturalization and other immigration documents, and the Department based the revocation solely on a statement that Alzokari had been known by another name before naturalization.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded