The American Bar Association is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the use of “secret evidence” in visa application proceedings, saying the practice violates due process in the pending high court case of an American whose El Salvadoran husband was denied a U.S. visa allegedly without adequate explanation.

The ABA said it filed the “amicus,” or friend-of-the-court, brief to make clear that U.S. consular officers must provide timely and adequate explanations for visa denials. The brief comes in the case of Luis Asencio-Cordero who was denied a visa, perhaps over his tattoos, though he insists he never belonged to a gang.