March 03, 2023

On-Site Inspections for Religious Worker Petitions

USCIS, Mar. 2, 2023 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding on-site inspections for special immigrant and nonimmigrant religious worker petitions."

March 02, 2023

Khedkar v. USCIS Affirms that Employee Also Has Interest in an I-140 Petition Filed By Employer

Cyrus Mehta, Kaitlyn Box, Feb. 28, 2023 "Because an employment-based immigrant visa petition, or Form I-140, is filed by an employer on behalf of a foreign national employee who is being sponsored for permanent residency, there is sometimes a perception that both the I-140 petition and the underlying labor certification belong to the employer. They are initiated by the employer on behalf of the noncitizen employee...

March 02, 2023

ICE Posts Its Bond Procedures Manual as a Result of FOIA Lawsuit

AIC - " U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) published the agency’s Bond Management Handbook , a manual that provides instruction to agency staff about bond payment procedures, in its electronic library as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Council and a number of bond funds from across the country. The Handbook is only one of the documents being pursued by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The lawsuit seeks...

March 02, 2023

USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for Second Half of FY 2023 and Announces Filing Dates for the Second Half of FY 2023 Supplemental Visas

USCIS, Mar. 2, 2023 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to meet the H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2023 and is announcing the filing dates for supplemental H-2B visas for the reminder of FY 2023 made available under the  FY 2023 H-2B supplemental visa temporary final rule . H-2B Cap for Second Half of FY 2023 USCIS has received enough petitions...

March 01, 2023

USCIS to Start Collecting Fee for EB-5 Integrity Fund

USCIS, Mar. 1, 2023 "Today, the Department of Homeland Security posted a Federal Register notice providing information related to the EB-5 Integrity Fund. We will use the EB-5 Integrity Fund primarily to administer the EB-5 Regional Center Program, as required by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. Starting Mar. 2, 2023, we will collect an annual fee from each designated regional center to finance the EB...

February 28, 2023

DOL Publishes Final Rule Revising the Methodology Used to Determine the Adverse Effect Wage Rates for Non-Range Occupations in the H-2A Program

DOL, Feb. 28, 2023 "The U.S. Department of Labor (Department) has published a final rule that amends its regulations regarding the methodology used to determine the Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) for non-range agricultural occupations in the H-2A visa program. The new methodology will result in AEWRs that better protect against adverse effect on the wages of workers in the United States similarly employed, while...

February 27, 2023

CA5 CIMT Remand: Zamaro-Silverio v. Garland

Zamaro-Silverio v. Garland "Francis Zamaro-Silverio petitions for review of the denial by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) of cancellation of removal and voluntary departure. The BIA held that Zamaro-Silverio had been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude (“CIMT”) and thus found her ineligible for those forms of discretionary relief. Because the BIA did not perform the proper analysis, we grant...

February 26, 2023

Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S.

By Hannah Dreier and Photographs By Kirsten Luce, NYT, Feb. 26, 2023 "These workers are part of a new economy of exploitation: Migrant children, who have been  coming into the United States  without their parents in record numbers, are ending up in some of the most punishing jobs in the country, a New York Times investigation found. This shadow work force extends across industries in every state, flouting child...

February 25, 2023

OCAHO: Govt. Failed to Meet Burden in I-9 Case

USA v. Quisquina-Yaxon "Respondent timely filed an Opposition to the Government’s Motion for Summary decision. Respondent argues that the Government has not met its burden of proof to support a summary decision because there remains a genuine issue of fact with regard to the “knowledge” element of Respondent’s conduct. Resp’t Opp’n to Mot. for Summ. Decision 6. Specifically, Respondent asserts that she has not...

February 24, 2023

287(g) News from Colorado: Nash v. Mikesell

Jesse Paul, Colorado Sun, Feb. 22, 2023 "The Teller County Sheriff’s Office did not violate state law when it agreed to hold inmates on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement even after they posted bond, a judge ruled Wednesday  in a closely watched case  brought by the ACLU of Colorado that could have broad consequences. The lawsuit hinged on the sheriff’s office’s decision to enter into  a 287(g)...

February 23, 2023

EOIR Webinar on Pre-Hearing Conferences, Mar. 9, 2023

EOIR, Feb. 23, 2023 "EOIR to Host National Stakeholder Meeting Regarding Pre-Hearing Conferences SUMMARY: The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) invites interested parties to attend a national stakeholder meeting to discuss pre-hearing conferences. During the meeting, Principal Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Daniel Weiss will provide information about pre-hearing conferences in immigration court matters...

February 22, 2023

Special Student Relief for F-1 Nonimmigrant Students

USCIS, Feb. 22, 2023 "The Secretary of Homeland Security may suspend certain regulatory requirements for F-1 students from a particular region who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of emergent circumstances (also known as SSR). DHS designates SSR by publication of a Federal Register notice, which provides the start and end dates of the suspension of those requirements, which may include...

February 22, 2023

Proposed "Rebuttable Presumption" Asylum Rule

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 02/23/2023 "The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) are issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM” or “proposed rule”) in anticipation of a potential surge of migration at the southwest border (“SWB”) of the United States following the eventual termination of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

February 21, 2023

CAHO McHenry Invites Amicus Briefing: USA v. Corrales-Hernandez

USA v. Corrales-Hernandez "[T]he undersigned will address whether a violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324c(a)(2) for the knowing use of a forged, counterfeit, altered, or falsely made document in order to obtain employment and complete the employment eligibility verification Form I-9 constitutes a “continuing violation” for the duration of employment at the employer to whom the document was presented or, alternatively,...

February 19, 2023

Wrongful Deportation FTCA Victory from Mass: Guerra-Castañeda v. USA

SangYeob Kim, Staff Attorney, American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, writes: "ACLU-NH is happy to share our victory in the wrongful deportation FTCA case from D. Mass. ICE deported our client during his petition for review before the First Circuit in violation of the First Circuit's stay orders. Because of this deportation, our client was detained and tortured in El Salvador. ... Special thanks to ACLU...

February 18, 2023

CA11 on Credibility, Substantial Evidence, Cuba: Serra v. Atty. Gen.

Serra v. Atty. Gen. "For decades, the authoritarian regime in Cuba has utilized its police force to intimidate and physically assault political dissidents and peaceful demonstrators throughout the island. Ignacio Balaez Serra, a Cuban immigrant seeking asylum in the United States, maintains he experienced this abuse first-hand after multiple arrests, imprisonments, and beatings by the Cuban police. Serra seeks...

February 15, 2023

CAHO Amicus Invitation: Immigration-related Document Fraud

AMICUS INVITATION No. 23-15-02 AMICUS INVITATION (Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer – Immigration-related Document Fraud) DUE FEBRUARY 27, 2023 FEBRUARY 15, 2023 In connection with an administrative review of an Administrative Law Judge decision, the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (CAHO) welcomes interested members of the public to file amicus curiae briefs discussing the below issue. ISSUE...

February 15, 2023

More CSPA News (Nakka v. USCIS)

Brent Renison writes: "I am happy to report that we have obtained partial victory in our 3 year long class action lawsuit over CSPA (Nakka v. USCIS) which I just argued at the Ninth Circuit last week. USCIS changed its policy yesterday to apply Dates for Filing as published by USCIS to lock a child’s age for CSPA purposes, rather than Final Action Date. The old policy had resulted in children of backlogged...

February 14, 2023

Visa Bulletin for March 2023

Visa Bulletin for March 2023 Notes D-G D.   VISA AVAILABILITY IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED SECOND PREFERENCE CATEGORY FOR ALL COUNTRIES (INCLUDING CHINA AND INDIA) Since December 2022, there has been higher than expected number use and demand, mostly due to continued new filings by applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than the established final action dates. This will necessitate corrective action...

February 14, 2023

Matter of Duarte-Gonzalez, 28 I&N Dec. 688 (BIA 2023)

Matter of Duarte-Gonzalez, 28 I&N Dec. 688 (BIA 2023) - Noncitizens who are inadmissible for a specified period of time pursuant to section 212(a)(9)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(9)(B)(i), due to their previous unlawful presence and departure are not required to reside outside the United States during this period in order to subsequently overcome this ground of inadmissibility....

February 14, 2023

USCIS Updates CSPA Age Calculation for Certain AOS Applicants

USCIS, Feb. 14, 2023 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to update when an immigrant visa number “becomes available” for the purpose of calculating a noncitizen’s age in certain situations under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). [ Age Calculation under Child Status Protection Act Policy Alert ] For a child to obtain lawful permanent...

February 14, 2023

OFLC Releases the H-2B Foreign Labor Recruiter List for Q1 of Fiscal Year 2023

OFLC, Feb. 14, 2023 "The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has published an updated list of the names of foreign labor recruiters for the H-2B program as required by  20 CFR 655.9(c) . The list contains the name and location of persons or entities identified on Appendix C of the Form ETA-9142B that were hired by, or working for, the recruiter that employers have indicated they engaged, or planned to...

February 14, 2023

OFLC Releases Public Disclosure Data and Selected Program Statistics for Q1 of Fiscal Year 2023

OFLC, Feb. 14, 2023 "The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has released a comprehensive set of public disclosure data (through the first quarter of fiscal year 2023) drawn from employer applications requesting prevailing wage determinations and labor certifications for the PERM, LCA (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3), H-2A, H-2B, CW-1, and Prevailing Wage programs. The public disclosure files include all final determinations...

February 14, 2023

US, Mexico Sign MOU on Temporary Workers

DOL, Jan. 18, 2023 "The governments of the U.S. and Mexico signed a memorandum of understanding on Jan. 17, 2023, to strengthen protections for workers participating in temporary foreign worker programs. The MOU affirms a mutual commitment to increased transparency and coordination between the two countries. The protections in this agreement include enforcing working conditions and preventing discrimination....

February 13, 2023

Ramos v. Wolf Vacated, to be Reheard En Banc (TPS)

Feb. 10, 2023 Order : "MURGUIA, Chief Judge: Upon the vote of a majority of nonrecused active judges, it is ordered that this case be reheard en banc pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 35(a) and Circuit Rule 35-3. The [Sept. 14, 2020] three-judge panel opinion [975 F.3d 872 (CA9,2020)] is vacated. Judges Owens and H.A. Thomas did not participate in the deliberations or vote in this case."