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."

February 10, 2023

Matter of J-L-L-, 28 I&N Dec. 684 (BIA 2023)

Matter of J-L-L-, 28 I&N Dec. 684 (BIA 2023) - Pereira v. Sessions, 138 S. Ct. 2105 (2018), and Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 141 S. Ct. 1474 (2021), are inapplicable to proceedings initiated by a Notice to Applicant for Admission Detained for Hearing Before Immigration Judge (“Form I-122”) and other charging documents issued prior to the effective date of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of...

February 10, 2023

DOS to Restore Some Stateside Visa Renewals!

Andrew Kreighbaum, Bloomberg Law, Feb. 9, 2023 "The State Department will launch a pilot program later this year offering visa renewal options in the US for H-1B specialty occupation workers and other temporary visa holders who are currently required to travel abroad. Restoring stateside visa renewals, which were discontinued in 2004, will save those applicants from having to leave the country, and will reduce...

February 09, 2023

OFLC Publishes 2023 Update to Allowable Charges for H-2A Agricultural Workers' Meals and for H-2A and H-2B Travel Subsistence Reimbursement, Including Lodging

OFLC, Feb. 9, 2023 "The Employment and Training Administration has issued a notice in the  Federal Register  to announce the annual updated dollar amount H-2A employers may charge workers, other than workers in herding or production of livestock on the range occupations, for providing meals and the maximum and minimum rate at which H-2A and H-2B workers must be reimbursed for travel-related subsistence expenses...

February 08, 2023

CA4 on Comity: Adjei v. Mayorkas

Adjei v. Mayorkas "We consider here whether the Commonwealth of Virginia would recognize a divorce granted by a foreign nation to its own citizens when neither spouse was domiciled in that nation at the time of the divorce. The question arises from Michael Antwi Adjei’s marriage to Barbara Boateng after Boateng and Kingsley Kwame Gyasi — both Ghanaian citizens — divorced pursuant to Ghanaian customary...

February 08, 2023

CA1 on Evidence...Round 2! - Aguilar-Escoto II

Aguilar-Escoto II "For the second time, petitioner Irma Aguilar-Escoto, a native and citizen of Honduras, asks us to vacate the Board of Immigration Appeals' ("BIA" or the "Board") rejection of her claim for withholding of removal. When this case was last before us, we vacated the BIA's prior order and instructed the Board to consider the potentially significant documentary evidence...

February 07, 2023

23 New Immigration Judges

EOIR, Feb. 6, 2023 "The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced the appointment of 23 immigration judges to immigration courts in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Texas, and Virginia. These immigration judges are career employees, and EOIR selected them after a thorough competitive application process. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland officially...

February 06, 2023

CA1 CAT Remand: Hernandez-Martinez v. Garland (Guatemala)

Hernandez-Martinez v. Garland "To summarize, we hold that the harm inflicted in the past on Hernandez-Martinez clearly satisfied the severity element of torture as defined for purposes of adjudicating a claim for relief under the CAT. We leave it to the BIA or the IJ to determine on remand in the first instance whether Hernandez-Martinez's experience otherwise met the definition of past torture (e.g., whether...

February 06, 2023

Asylum Victory in Denver (PSG = Salvadoran Women)

On January 24, 2023 Denver Immigration Judge Brea C. Burgie granted asylum to a Salvadoran woman and her minor daughter. Hats off to Alexandra Katsiaficas!

February 06, 2023

Enjoined Asylum Regulations "Cheat Sheet"

NIPNLG, Jan. 30, 2023 "The Trump administration published myriad regulations seeking to restrict access to asylum and related protections. The worst of these regulations were enjoined through litigation, including  Pangea Legal Servs.I v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. , 501 F. Supp. 3d 792, 827 (N.D. Cal. 2020), a case on which NIPNLG is co-counsel. While most of these lawsuits are being held in abeyance pending...

February 06, 2023

USCIS on Asylee and Refugee Adjustment 1-Year Physical Presence Requirement

USCIS, Feb. 2, 2023 "... To promote consistency in the processing of asylee and refugee adjustment of status applications and reduce barriers that might impede refugees from timely filing for adjustment of status, USCIS is updating policy guidance to clarify that both asylees and refugees are required to satisfy the 1-year physical presence requirement at the time USCIS adjudicates the adjustment of status application...

January 30, 2023

NYLAG Unpub. BIA FOIA Update

NYLAG, Jan. 30, 2023 "...  Under the settlement approved in February 2022, the Board is required to place nearly all its opinions into an online reading room, accessible to all in perpetuity, ensuring that immigration advocates will have access to these opinions within six months of when they are issued. The Board also must post its decisions dating back to 2017 as well as some from 2016.  In January 2023, the...

January 27, 2023

Biden Extends DED for Certain Hong Kong Residents

White House, Jan. 26, 2023 - Memorandum on Extending and Expanding Eligibility for Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Hong Kong Residents "... Pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct the foreign relations of the United States, I have determined that it is in the foreign policy interest of the United States to defer for 24 months the removal of any Hong Kong resident who is present in the United...

January 26, 2023

Cal. Sup. Ct. on Immigration Consequences: People v. Espinoza

People v. Espinoza "In support of his third motion, before us now, Espinoza attached a declaration describing his biographical history, which includes more than 20 years living in the United States prior to conviction; a declaration from an immigration attorney explaining that Espinoza’s convictions place him in danger of losing his permanent residence, being deported, and being barred from reentering the United...

January 26, 2023

U Adjustment Medical Exam Class Action

Matt Adams writes: "Last month NWIRP and the Alaska Immigration Justice Project filed a class action challenging the USCIS policy requiring U visa applicants for adjustment of status to file a medical exam, form I-693, even though they are not subject to the medical grounds of inadmissibility. We are seeking class certification of a nationwide class and are now preparing a motion for preliminary injunctive relief...

January 26, 2023

CA2 on FOIA: ACLU v. ICE

ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project v. ICE "In this action under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), plaintiff appeals an award of summary judgment in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (George B. Daniels, Judge) in favor of defendant, arguing that the district court erred in concluding that requiring defendant to substitute Unique Identifying Numbers (“Unique IDs”) for...

January 26, 2023

CA9 on Persecution, Social Group: Cristobal Antonio v. Garland

Cristobal Antonio v. Garland "Rebeca Cristobal Antonio, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) streamlined affirmance of the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of her claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Antonio was verbally and physically harassed and received death threats...

January 26, 2023

Denver IJ Pens "Treatise" on Defective NTAs

On Jan. 10, 2023 Denver Immigration Judge issued this order dismissing removal proceedings due to a defective NTA, discussing Pereira, Niz-Chavez and 10th Cir. caselaw.  Hats off to Denver attorney Ryland Warner .

January 26, 2023

Two New Class Action Lawsuits Against USCIS, ICE

On January 23, 2023 a class action lawsuit was filed in Seattle regarding delays in adjudicating unlawful presence waivers: Guevara Enriquez v. USCIS . On January 20, 2023 a class action lawsuit was filed in D.C. regarding ICE's publication of private information of asylum seekers: Asylum Seekers v. Johnson .

January 25, 2023

CA3 on Guatemala, Law, Facts and Standard of Review: Saban-Cach v. Atty. Gen.

Saban-Cach v. Atty. Gen. "Based on past experiences, if returned to Guatemala, Selvin Heraldo Saban-Cach fears being persecuted by a local gang because of his identity as an indigenous person. Accordingly, he seeks withholding of removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act and protection from removal under the Convention Against Torture. The Immigration Judge denied his applications and ordered his removal...

January 25, 2023

CA9 on Equitable Tolling, Stop-Time Rule, Evidence: Abbas v. Garland

Abbas v. Garland (unpub.) "Mohamed Kamal Eldin Abbas (“Abbas”), a native and citizen of Egypt, petitions for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denying his motions to reconsider and to reopen removal proceedings. ... We grant the petition and remand for further proceedings consistent with this disposition. ...  Abbas argued in his motion to reopen that equitable tolling of the time...

January 25, 2023

Haiti TPS Notices

Extension and Redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status - "Through this notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) is extending the designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, beginning on February 4, 2023, and ending on August 3, 2024. This extension allows existing TPS beneficiaries to retain TPS through...

January 24, 2023

287(g) On Trial in Colorado

ACLU, Jan. 19, 2023 "In a three-day trial set to begin January 24 in Teller County District Court in Cripple Creek, Colorado, ACLU of Colorado lawyers will argue that Sheriff Jason Mikesell violates a Colorado statute and the Colorado Constitution by enforcing federal immigration law pursuant to an agreement with ICE.    This is the first trial in the country in a lawsuit alleging that a sheriff violates state...

January 23, 2023

Some Asylum Applicants May Apply For Work Permits Online

USCIS, Jan. 23, 2023 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that certain asylum applicants can now file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization , online. Effective immediately, applicants for employment authorization under category (c)(8), Pending Asylum and Withholding of Removal Applicants and Applicants for Pending Asylum under the ABC Settlement Agreement, may file Form I...

January 20, 2023

Remember the NYLAG Settlement? (BIA Unpubs.)

In case you had forgotten... "... In February 2022, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered the Board to establish an online library of its unpublished opinions – the result of a settlement between the NYLAG and the U.S. Department of Justice. By giving immigrants and their lawyers full access to the Board’s opinions, the settlement will allow them to fight removal and other...