Ahmad AHGHAZALI, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Defendant-Appellee

LIVELY, Senior Circuit Judge.

This is a social security disability case in which the district court concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over a petition to review a decision of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) denying benefits. The district court found that because the plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies under the Social Security Act (the Act), the Secretary had not rendered a “final decision” within the meaning of section 205(g) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).1 The Act precludes general federal question jurisdiction as a basis for…