In the 1910 case of Ling Su Fan v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled on a matter concerning immigration law and its application to children born abroad to American citizens. The appellant, Ling Su Fan, was denied entry into the U.S., despite his claim that he was an American citizen by virtue of his father's citizenship status. His father had lived in America for several years before returning to China temporarily where Ling Su Fan was born. Upon return to America with his son, they were barred from entering under laws restricting Chinese laborers' immigration at that time. The court held that while generally children born abroad to American parents are considered U.S citizens themselves; this principle does not apply when specific legislation provides otherwise - as it did in this instance due to existing restrictions on Chinese immigrants. Therefore, despite being a child of an American citizen, Ling Su Fan could be excluded under these particular circumstances because Congress had enacted laws specifically limiting Chinese immigration.

In the dissenting opinion for Ling Su Fan v. United States, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision was a misinterpretation of both the Chinese Exclusion Act and previous court rulings on similar cases. He contended that Congress did not intend to exclude all Chinese immigrants from entering America, but only those who could not prove their eligibility under existing laws. The burden of proof should be on government officials to show why an immigrant is ineligible rather than forcing immigrants themselves to provide evidence of their right to enter or remain in the country. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's view that courts had no jurisdiction over immigration matters; instead, he believed they were obligated by law and justice principles to review such decisions when necessary.