May 11, 2023

CA1 on Changed Country Conditions (Guatemala) - Mendez Esteban v. Garland

Mendez Esteban v. Garland "[T]he 2017 report and the testimony from Mendez do not -- together or independently -- establish that changes in Guatemala have fundamentally altered the specific conditions that gave rise to Mendez's substantiated claim of political persecution. Accordingly, the BIA's conclusion that DHS rebutted Mendez's presumption of well-founded fear is not supported by substantial evidence...

May 11, 2023

ICE Announces FERM (Family Expedited Removal Management)

ICE, May 10, 2023 "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) today announced a process for family units apprehended at the Southwest Border who are processed for expedited removal and indicate an intention to apply for asylum or express a fear of persecution or torture. This process, Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM), will place certain heads of household...

May 11, 2023

OFLC Postpones FLAG Date

OFLC, May 11, 2023 "Following up on the announcements of April 21, April 27, May 1, and May 8, 2023, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) is postponing the date for filers to begin submitting the new, revised applications for permanent employment certification and CW-1 applications for temporary employment certification in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) from May 16, 2023, to June 1, 2023...

May 11, 2023

Supreme Court: Santos-Zacaria v. Garland

Santos-Zacaria v. Garland 22 F. 4th 570, vacated in part and remanded. JACKSON, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C. J., and SOTOMAYOR, KAGAN, GORSUCH, KAVANAUGH, and BARRETT, JJ., joined. ALITO, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which THOMAS, J., joined. - "Under 8 U. S. C. §1252(d)(1), a noncitizen who seeks to challenge an order of removal in court must first exhaust...

May 10, 2023

Asylum Final Rule: Advance Copy

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 05/16/2023 "ACTION: Final rule; request for comments on expanded applicability in maritime context. SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) are issuing a final rule in anticipation of a potential surge of migration at the southwest border (“SWB”) of the United States following the termination...

May 09, 2023

Challenging Delays in Refugee Relative Petition Processing in Federal Court: Practice Advisory

NILA, May 8, 2023 "This advisory addresses lawsuits in federal district court seeking to compel USCIS and/or DOS to complete processing of delayed adjudications of Form I-730 refugee follow-to-join petitions."

May 09, 2023

CA6 on PSG: Turcios-Flores v. Garland (2-1)

Turcios-Flores v. Garland "Under the correct analysis, the record here compels a conclusion that Honduran rural landownership in this case is a common fundamental characteristic because Turcios-Flores should not be required to change this aspect of her identity to avoid persecution given the demonstrated importance of landownership to her. Therefore, we remand to the Board for further explanation of whether this...

May 09, 2023

$9.9M Settlement in B-1 vs. H-1B Visa Dispute

U.S. Attorney's Office, S. Carolina, April 10, 2023 "L&T Technology Services, LTD (“LTTS”), a company based in India, with U.S. offices in Edison New Jersey, has agreed to pay $9,928,000 to resolve allegations that between 2014 and 2019, LTTS underpaid visa fees owed to the United States by acquiring inexpensive B-1 visas, rather than more expensive H-1B visas, in alleged violation of the False Claims Act...

May 08, 2023

Answering Tricky Questions on the Revised Labor Certification Form on Dual Representation and Familial Relationships

Cyrus Mehta, May 8, 2023 "The Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Certification (OFLC) has revised the Application for Permanent Employment Certification, ETA Form 9089, as well as the corresponding Application for Prevailing Wage Determination, Form ETA 9141. OFLC will begin accepting these revised forms on May 16, 2023, and has posted an “unofficial watermarked preview copy” of the form “to allow stakeholders...

May 08, 2023

White House Memo: More Funds for Refugees, Migrants

White House, May 1, 2023 "By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601(c)(1)) (MRAA), I hereby determine, pursuant to section 2(c)(1) of the MRAA, that it is important to the national interest to furnish assistance under the MRAA in an amount not to exceed...

May 08, 2023

US/Mexico/Canada COVID Border Restrictions Ending

Notification of Termination of Temporary Travel Restrictions Applicable to Land Ports of Entry and Ferries Service Between the United States and Canada - "This Notification announces the decision of the Secretary of Homeland Security (“Secretary”), after consulting with interagency partners, to terminate temporary restrictions on travel by certain noncitizens into the United States at land ports of entry...

May 05, 2023

DHS Announces Upcoming Re-parole Process for Afghan Nationals

DHS, May 5, 2023 "Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it is establishing a process to re-parole eligible Afghan nationals so they can continue living and working legally in the United States. Beginning in June, Afghan nationals who arrived in the United States under humanitarian parole through  Operation Allies Welcome  (OAW) will be able to request a re-parole through online and paper filing...

May 05, 2023

ICE updates Form I-9 requirement flexibility

ICE, May 4, 2023 "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that employers will have 30 days to reach compliance with Form I-9 requirements after the COVID-19 flexibilities sunset on July 31, 2023. These flexibilities were first  announced  in March 2020 and subsequently extended throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. DHS encourages employers who...

May 05, 2023

Matter of Morales-Morales, 28 I&N Dec. 714 (BIA 2023)

Matter of Morales-Morales, 28 I&N Dec. 714 (BIA 2023) - (1) The Board of Immigration Appeals has authority to accept what are otherwise untimely appeals, and consider them timely, in certain situations because 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38(b) (2022) is a claim-processing rule and not a jurisdictional provision. Matter of Liadov, 23 I&N Dec. 990 (BIA 2006), overruled. (2) The Board will accept a late-filed appeal where a...

May 04, 2023

USCIS Providing Documents After Notice of Immigration Judge and BIA Decisions About Immigration Status

USCIS, May 4, 2023 "We now are affirmatively creating and providing documented evidence of their status to certain new asylees and lawful permanent residents upon our receiving notification that an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has granted status. Individuals granted asylum and lawful permanent resident status are still instructed and encouraged to contact the  USCIS Contact Center...

May 03, 2023

California Immigration Judge Sexually Harassed Staff, Suit Says

Annelise Gilbert, Bloomberg Law, May 3, 2023 "Los Angeles Assistant Chief Immigration  Judge Scott D. Laurent  allegedly subjected his assistant to “graphic” conversations about his sexual relations with private and government attorneys and another judge, according to a new lawsuit ."

May 03, 2023

USCIS Extends and Expands Employment Authorization for Hong Kong Residents Covered by DED

USCIS, May 3, 2023 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today posted a Federal Register notice on the extension and expansion of eligibility for Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Hong Kong residents. The notice also explains how eligible residents of Hong Kong may apply for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). On Jan. 26, 2023, President Biden issued a memorandum extending and expanding...

May 02, 2023

DHS to Allow Afghan Evacuees to Renew Parole

Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, May 1, 2023 "The Biden administration is planning to allow tens of thousands of Afghans brought to the U.S. after the Taliban takeover of their homeland to apply to stay and work in the country legally for at least another two years, as efforts in Congress to legalize them have stalled, four people familiar with the plan told CBS News. The decision by the Department of Homeland...

May 02, 2023

White House Memo on Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs

White House, May 1, 2023 "MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE SUBJECT:       Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601(c)(1)) (MRAA), I hereby determine, pursuant to section 2(c)(1) of the MRAA, that it is...

May 01, 2023

OFLC Provides Webinar Materials and Information to Stakeholders on the PERM and H-2A Programs

OFLC, May 1, 2023 "In April 2023, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) conducted three webinars to provide stakeholder updates on: Developments on the new Adverse Effect Wage Rate Rule in the H-2A Program; An update to the new PERM Form ETA-9089; And an update on the modernization of the PERM Program. The presentation materials are now available at the hyperlinks below and under the "Webinars"...

May 01, 2023

Unpub. CA5 Remand: Reyes-Hoyes v. Garland

Reyes-Hoyes v. Garland "Darlin Maribel Reyes-Hoyes (“Reyes-Hoyes”) and her minor child Antony Josue Hernandez-Reyes (“Antony”) petitioned this court to review the denial of their applications for asylum. For the following reasons, the petition for review is GRANTED in part and DISMISSED in part. The decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) is VACATED, and the case is REMANDED to the BIA for further...

May 01, 2023

Ethical Considerations When the Removal Case is Dismissed

Cyrus Mehta, Kaitlyn Box, Apr. 30, 2023 "In recent times, immigration courts are dismissing the cases of noncitizens with great zeal. Even government attorneys are moving to dismiss these cases and Immigration Judges (IJ) are going along. This bodes well for the noncitizen who is no longer facing the specter of a removal order. On the other hand, the dismissal of the case often leaves the noncitizen in limbo. The...

April 29, 2023

Asylum Victory in Colorado! (Indigenous Guatemalan)

Christina Brown writes: "I wanted to share the attached decision in case it is helpful to others. IJ Burgie granted the asylum claim of an indigenous Guatemalan applicant finding past persecution based on severe economic deprivation (DHS failed to rebut). She also granted based on a pattern and practice of severe economic persecution of indigenous Guatemalans." [ICE did NOT appeal.  Hats way off to Christina...

April 28, 2023

Webinar: FAQ on Al Otro Lado v. Mayorkas Permanent Injunction Eligibility for Certain Asylum Seekers Turned Back at Ports of Entry

Date & Time: May 2, 2023 11:00 AM   in    Mountain Time (US and Canada)   Description: Even before Title 42, the government was illegally turning back asylum seekers at ports of entry. Under a practice called “metering,” border officials told asylum seekers that the ports“were full” and refused to inspect and process them, forcing them to wait in Mexico. The American Immigration Council and our partners filed...

April 28, 2023

Matter of CANCINOS-MANCIO, 28 I&N Dec. 708 (BIA 2023)

Matter of CANCINOS-MANCIO, 28 I&N Dec. 708 (BIA 2023) - Under the modified categorical approach, an Immigration Judge may consider the transcript of a plea colloquy in determining the factual basis of a plea. "The transcript of the respondent’s change of plea hearing demonstrates that the factual basis for the respondent’s amended plea was for an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon under section 13-1204...