November 29, 2022

More H-2A Listening Sessions

OFLC, Nov. 25, 2022 "The U.S. Department of Labor previously announced that it intends to engage in additional rulemaking concerning the H-2A visa program for temporary agricultural employment of foreign workers. The Department will consider new ways to support worker voice and promote employer accountability. As we review the Department’s H-2A regulations, we are eager to hear from stakeholders that represent...

November 28, 2022

Supreme Court Preview: U.S. v. Texas ("Could Be a Blockbuster")

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of U.S. v. Texas on a writ of certiorari before judgment, to review the Fifth Circuit's denial of a stay of federal district court Judge Tipton's nationwide injunction . Issues : (1) Whether state plaintiffs have Article III standing to challenge the Department of Homeland Security’s Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil...

November 26, 2022

CA2 CAT Remand: Lopez De Velasquez v. Garland

Lopez De Velasquez v. Garland (unpub.) "Petition for review of a December 26, 2018 decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) vacating a July 27, 2017 decision of an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) granting Petitioners’ application for asylum and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED...

November 23, 2022

CA9 Appeal Waiver Remand: Phong v. Garland

Phong v. Garland (unpub.) "Petitioner Kai Hong Phong seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) summary dismissal of his appeal from an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) determination that Phong is ineligible for asylum, protection under the Convention Against Torture, or withholding of removal. After reviewing an audio recording of Phong’s hearing before the IJ, the BIA concluded that because Phong orally...

November 22, 2022

OFLC Posts H-2A Prevailing Wage Surveys FAQ (Nov. 21, 2022)

OFLC, Nov. 21, 2022 2022 H-2A Final Rule FAQs Prevailing Wage Surveys "On October 12, 2022, the Department of Labor (the Department) published a final rule promulgating regulations governing the certification of employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary agricultural employment and the enforcement of obligations applicable to employers of H-2A workers and workers in the United States similarly employed....

November 21, 2022

CA2 on CAT, Honduras: Garcia-Aranda v. Garland

Garcia-Aranda v. Garland "Karla Iveth Garcia-Aranda petitions for review of two decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denying asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Garcia-Aranda, a native and citizen of Honduras, testified before an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) that she and her family had been threatened, kidnapped...

November 21, 2022

NY IJ Asylum Victory; Guatemala; Feminist Political Opinion

Michael Shannon writes: "I wanted to share a very good written decision from IJ Barbara Nelson , who granted asylum to my client based on her actual and imputed feminist political opinion under Hernandez-Chacon v. Barr . Now that the appeal period has run, I’m attaching a redacted copy of the decision, in case you can use it as persuasive authority in your cases." [Hats off to Michael !]

November 17, 2022

Matter of Coronado Acevedo, 28 I&N Dec. 648 (A.G. 2022)

Matter of Coronado Acevedo, 28 I&N Dec. 648 (A.G. 2022) (1) Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B-, 27 I&N Dec. 462 (A.G. 2018) , is overruled. (2) Pending the outcome of the rulemaking process, immigration judges and the Board of Immigration of Appeals may consider and, where appropriate, grant termination or dismissal of removal proceedings in certain types of limited circumstances, such as where a noncitizen has...

November 17, 2022

Understanding Government "Acquiescence" in CAT Cases: Hon. Jeffrey S. Chase

Hon. Jeffrey S. Chase, Nov. 17, 2022 "I would like to discuss a concept related to asylum, involving protection under Article 3 of the U.N. Convention Against Torture (commonly referred to as “CAT” for short). Although lacking the benefits afforded to those granted asylum or admitted as refugees, the importance of CAT as a protection from deportation has increased in recent years due to the complex...

November 17, 2022

DOS/AILA Liaison Committee Meeting, November 3, 2022, Q&A

State Department, Nov. 14, 2022 "The Department of State’s Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Consular Affairs (L/CA), in coordination with the Visa Office in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, appreciates the opportunity to discuss issues of concern to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).  We believe these discussions, and publication of Department responses to issues raised by AILA on Travel...

November 17, 2022

December 2022 Visa Bulletin

December 2022 Visa Bulletin [N.B. notes D through J.]

November 16, 2022

CA4 (2-1) on Jurisdiction, Standard of Review, Equitable Tolling: Williams v. Garland

Williams v. Garland - Petition for review granted, vacated, and remanded by published opinion. Senior Judge Floyd wrote the opinion in which Senior Judge Motz joined. Judge Rushing wrote a separate dissenting opinion. "In 2006, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deported Petitioner Damien Donovan Williams, a permanent resident of the United States since he was six years old, because the Board of Immigration...

November 16, 2022

OFLC Posts Data, Stats, Lists (Nov. 15, 2022)

OFLC, Nov. 15, 2022 November 15, 2022. OFLC Releases Public Disclosure Data and Selected Program Statistics for Q4 of Fiscal Year 2022 The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has released a comprehensive set of public disclosure data (through the final quarter of fiscal year 2022) drawn from employer applications requesting prevailing wage determinations and labor certifications for the PERM, LCA (H-1B...

November 16, 2022

"Round Table" Files Daye v. Garland Amicus Brief at USSC

Hon. Paul W. Schmidt, Nov. 16, 2022 "For over 70 years, Federal Judges from the Supremes on down have turned a “blind eye” to our Constitution and substituted their subjective views on morality and immigrants for the rule of law. Our Round Table says it’s high time to stop! [The amicus brief is here: https://immigrationcourtside.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Daye-Amicus-Brief-To-File-11.14...

November 16, 2022

Judge Permanently Enjoins CDC Border Blockade (Title 42) as of Dec. 22, 2022

Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas "[T]he Court hereby GRANTS Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF No. 144. The Court vacates and sets aside the Title 42 policy—consisting of the regulation at 42 C.F.R. § 71.40 and all orders and decision memos issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suspending the right to introduce certain persons into...

November 11, 2022

ILP Desk Edition, Rel. 76 (Nov. 2022)

For those of you who subscribe to the Immigration Law and Procedure: Desk Edition , Release 76 (Nov. 2022) is in the mail!  Many thanks to Zelda Vasquez, Esq. (Board Certified) for the updates!

November 10, 2022

Continuation of Documentation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status Designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 11/16/2022 "Through this notice, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces actions to ensure its continued compliance with the preliminary injunction order of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Ramos, et al. v. Nielsen, et. al., No. 18-cv-01554 (N.D. Cal. October 3, 2018) (“Ramos”) and...

November 10, 2022

ORR Field Guidance #21 – Compliance with Garza Requirements and Procedures for Unaccompanied Children Needing Reproductive Healthcare (Rev. Nov. 10, 2022)

ORR, Nov. 10, 2022 "Congress made the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responsible for the care of all unaccompanied children (UC) while in federal custody, see 8 U.S.C. § 1232(b)(1). This Field Guidance confirms that ORR staff and care providers must not prevent UC from accessing legal abortion-related services and that ORR staff and care providers must make all reasonable efforts...

November 10, 2022

USCIS Announces Online Filing for Affirmative Asylum Applications

USCIS, Nov. 9, 2022 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today that  Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal , is available to file online for certain affirmative asylum applicants. USCIS continues to accept the latest paper version of this form by mail. “The expansion of online filing is a priority for USCIS as we make our operations more efficient and effective for...

November 10, 2022

OFLC H-2A Webinar, Nov. 17, 2022

OFLC, Nov. 9, 2022 Department of Labor Announces a Stakeholder Webinar on the 2022 H-2A Final Rule Filing and Processing Updates to be Held on November 17, 2022 On November 17, 2022, the Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) will host a public webinar to educate stakeholders, program users, and other interested members of the public on the changes to the H-2A program made by the H-2A 2022...

November 10, 2022

DOS on IV Processing in Havana (Nov. 10, 2022)

DOS, Nov. 10, 2022 "The U.S. Embassy in Havana will resume full immigrant visa processing beginning on January 4, 2023, to include immediate relative, family preference, diversity visa, and K fiancé(e) visa categories. This increase is part of the broader expansion of the Embassy’s functions to facilitate diplomatic and civil society engagement and to provide safe, legal, and orderly migration options...

November 09, 2022

List of H-2A/B Visa Countries (Advance Notice)

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 11/10/2022 "Under Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may generally only approve petitions for H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant status for nationals of countries that the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, has designated by notice published...

November 08, 2022

CA7 on CIMT, Retroactivity: Zaragoza v. Garland

Zaragoza v. Garland "Dulce Zaragoza, a native and citizen of Mexico and a lawful permanent resident of the United States, pleaded guilty to the Indiana offense of criminal neglect of a dependent after locking her six-year-old son in a closet for six hours. She was sentenced to one year in jail suspended to time served plus 30 days, with the remainder of the sentence to be served on probation. After completing her...

November 08, 2022

Cert. Pet. Challenges Jordan v. DeGeorge, CIMT: Daye v. Garland

Kalvis Golde, SCOTUSblog, Nov. 4, 2022 "In its 1951 decision in Jordan v. De George , the Supreme Court held that the term “crime involving moral turpitude” in federal immigration law is not unconstitutionally vague. The term lacks any statutory definition, however, and courts around the country have since struggled to apply it evenly and frequently criticized its existence. This week, we highlight...

November 08, 2022

CA1 Amicus Win: LaParra-DeLeon v. Garland

NILA in Action, Nov. 7, 2022 "In  LaParra-DeLeon v. Garland , NILA submitted an amicus brief and reply brief in support of the petitioner, on behalf of itself and three other immigrants’ rights organizations. The case, a petition for review of published BIA decision  Matter of LaParra , involved a notice to rescind an in absentia removal order based on lack of notice. The petitioner and amici argued that, where...