The Nondiscrimination Obligation of Immigration and Nationality Act Section 202(A)(1)(A)

Abstract

The nondiscrimination obligation of INA Sec 202(a)(1)(A) entered the law in 1965 as part of a larger Congressional repudiation of the executive branch's claim to flexibility and discretion in the issuance of immigrant visas. The administration had specifically claimed the discretion to direct immigrant visas to Western European countries potentially disadvantaged by the abolition of national origin quotas. Congress eliminated this discretion and, in the same substitute bill, reserved the power to create categories of immigrant admission to itself. Congress reinforced that power by directing the executive branch to administer visa categories without favoring countries or races. The nondiscrimination obligation thus rules out some of the more extravagant recent claims for executive authority unilaterally to alter immigration law.