Got Plasma? (CADC on B-1, APA, Zone of Interests)

CSL Plasma v. CBP

"In June 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) announced that aliens seeking to sell blood plasma could no longer enter the United States using “B‑1” business visitor visas. Before this policy went into effect, a significant amount of the plasma used for medical treatments and research in this country came from Mexican nationals selling their plasma on the U.S. side of the southern border. CSL Plasma Inc., as well as other companies (“plasma companies”), had invested substantial resources to develop plasma collection facilities near the border to take advantage of this market. The plasma companies sued, alleging that CBP’s policy runs afoul of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) and unlawfully cuts off a major source of plasma that they use to manufacture therapies to treat a range of diseases. The district court concluded the plasma companies were not within the “zone of interests” of the B-1 business visitor classification set out in the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) and sua sponte dismissed the suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. We reverse. Whether the plasma companies are within the statutory zone of interests is a merits issue, not a jurisdictional one. See Lexmark Int’l, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., 572 U.S. 118, 128 n.4 (2014). Moreover, the plasma companies’ claims easily fit within the zone of interests of the B‑1 classification, and therefore they have a cause of action under the APA."

[Hats off to Baruch Weiss and team!]