UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 98-2316

JAMES MERCADO, Plaintiff - Appellant, versus

WILLIAM S. COHEN, Secretary of Department of Defense (Defense Mapping Agency aka National Imagery and Mapping Agency), Defendant - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis- trict of Virginia, at Alexandria. James C. Cacheris, Senior Dis- trict Judge. (CA-98-521-A)

Submitted: November 5, 1998 Decided: November 18, 1998

Before ERVIN, LUTTIG, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

James Mercado, Appellant Pro Se. Leslie Bonner McClendon, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: James Mercado appeals the district court’s order dismissing without prejudice his complaint alleging employment discrimination.

This court may exercise jurisdiction only over final orders, 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1994). Because Mercado may be able to save this action by amending his complaint, the district court’s order is not an appealable final order. See Domino Sugar Corp. v. Sugar Workers Local Union 392, 10 F.3d 1064 (4th Cir. 1993) (a dismissal without prejudice is not reviewable unless the reasons stated for the dismissal clearly disclose that no amendment to the complaint could cure its defects). We therefore dismiss the appeal without preju- dice. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED