In Kakar v. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit considered whether the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) properly denied an Afghan national lawful permanent residence status for allegedly engaging in terrorist activity, where he had been abducted by the Taliban and forced to take up arms to fight against his will. 29 F.4th 129 (2d Cir. 2022).

In a unanimous decision authored by Circuit Judge Raymond Lohier, with Circuit Judges John Walker and Guido Calabresi concurring, the Second Circuit reversed, taking issue with the lack of reasoning in the USCIS's decision, and focusing on the court's inability to discern whether the USCIS had considered all of the necessary factors in denying Mr. Kakar's application. The Second Circuit held the USCIS's decision was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and vacated the district court's affirmance.