October 12, 2022

H-2A Final Rule

The Department of Labor Publishes Final Rule Revising its Regulations on the H-2A Application and Temporary Labor Certification Process "The U.S. Department of Labor has published a final rule,  Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in the United States  (“2022 H-2A Final Rule” or “final rule”), that revises its regulations governing the certification of employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary...

October 10, 2022

November 2022 Visa Bulletin

November 2022 Visa Bulletin Notes: "D.   EMPLOYMENT FOURTH PREFERENCE (SR) RELIGIOUS WORKERS CATEGORY EXTENDED H.R. 6833, enacted on September 30, 2022, extended the Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) category until December 16, 2022.  No SR visas may be issued overseas, or final action taken on adjustment of status cases, after midnight December 15, 2022.  Visas issued prior to that...

October 10, 2022

DV-2024 News

State Department "The online registration period for the DV-2024 Program begins on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4) and concludes on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, at 12:00 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5).  Submission of more than one entry for a person will disqualify all entries for that person. The English version of the  DV-2024 Program Instructions  in...

October 10, 2022

Arrival Restrictions Applicable to Flights Carrying Persons Who Have Recently Traveled from or Were Otherwise Present Within Uganda

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 10/12/2022 "This document announces the decision of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to direct all flights to the United States carrying persons who have recently traveled from, or were otherwise present within, Uganda to arrive at one of the United States airports where the United States government is focusing public...

October 07, 2022

USCIS Policy Alert: EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022

USCIS, Oct. 6, 2022 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to incorporate changes resulting from the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. ... Policy Highlights • Incorporates changes to investment amounts and targeted employment area definitions, as well as new definitions for infrastructure projects, capital, and new commercial enterprise resulting...

October 07, 2022

USCIS Policy Alert: Calixto Settlement Agreement and MAVNI Naturalization Applicants

USCIS, Oct. 7, 2022 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to update guidance regarding certain Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) naturalization applicants based on a settlement agreement in Calixto, et al., v. U.S. Dep’t of the Army, et al. (Calixto Agreement). ...  Policy Highlights • Provides that USCIS considers Calixto...

October 07, 2022

Reminders for DACA Recipients and Employers that Work Authorization Continues After the Fifth Circuit’s DACA Decision

U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section "On October 5, 2022, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals partially upheld a July 2021 district court decision finding that the original DACA program (established in 2012) was unlawful; however, the Fifth Circuit sent the case back for the district court to consider the Department of Homeland Security’s new DACA regulation (issued...

October 06, 2022

Matter of Bador, 28 I&N Dec. 638 (BIA 2022)

Matter of Bador, 28 I&N Dec. 638 (BIA 2022) (1) A fraud waiver under section 237(a)(1)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(H) (2018), does not waive a respondent’s removability under section 237(a)(1)(D)(i) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(D)(i), where conditional permanent residence was terminated for failure to file a joint petition, a reason separate and independent from...

October 05, 2022

CA5 on DACA (Oct. 5, 2022)

Texas v. USA "The legal questions that DACA presents are serious, both to the parties and to the public. In our view, the defendants have not shown that there is a likelihood that they will succeed on the merits. But we are mindful that, in the similar DAPA case, the Supreme Court was equally divided over our judgment. We also recognize that DACA has had profound significance to recipients and many others in the...

October 05, 2022

CA5 on Evidence, CAT, Cameroon: Ndifon v. Garland

Ndifon v. Garland "Elmond Echaukian Ndifon, a native and citizen of Cameroon, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his claim for protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Ndifon claims the BIA failed to consider country conditions evidence when separately analyzing...

October 05, 2022

Refugee Admissions for FY23 (Advance Copy)

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 10/06/2022 "By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, in accordance with section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the “Act”) (8 U.S.C. 1157), and after appropriate consultations with the Congress, I hereby make the following determinations and authorize the following actions:...

October 05, 2022

CA9 on Consular Reviewability: Muñoz v. Dept. of State - UPDATE: Pet. Reh. En Banc Denied (July 14, 2023)

UPDATE, July 14, 2023 : " The full court was advised of the petition for rehearing en banc. A judge requested a vote on whether to rehear the matter en banc. The matter failed to receive a majority of the votes of the nonrecused active judges in favor of en banc consideration. Fed. R. App. P. 35. The petition for rehearing en banc, Docket No. 39, is DENIED." Muñoz v. Dept. of State - 50 F.4th 906 (9th...

October 05, 2022

USCIS Q&A: O&P Webinar (Aug. 3, 2022)

USCIS, O & P Webinar Wednesday, August 3, 2022 Questions and Answers

October 04, 2022

CADC Upholds OPT Rule: Washtech v. DHS

Washtech v. DHS (2-1) "[W]e affirm the judgment of the district court sustaining the OPT Rule’s authorization of a limited period of post-coursework Optional Practical Training, if recommended and overseen by the school and approved by DHS, for qualifying students on F-1 visas. ... The OPT program is ... a valid exercise of the Secretary’s statutory authority. ... Washtech’s claim that the OPT Rule conflicts with...

October 04, 2022

Cert. Granted in Santos-Zacaria v. Garland

On Jan. 10, 2022 a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a 2-1 decision in the case of Santos-Zacaria v. Garland, 22 F.4th 570 . On May 10, 2022 counsel for Santos-Zacaria filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Aug. 12, 2022 the government filed a Brief in Opposition . On Oct. 3, 2022 the Supreme Court granted the petition . Question Presented : After...

October 04, 2022

The New Border Asylum Adjudication System: Speed, Fairness, and the Representation Problem

Forthcoming, Howard Law Journal, Vol. 66, No. 3, 2023 Philip G. Schrag, Jaya Ramji-Nogales, Andrew I. Schoenholtz "In 2022, the Biden administration implemented what the New York Times has described as potentially “the most sweeping change to the asylum process in a quarter-century.” This new adjudication system creates unrealistically short deadlines for asylum seekers who arrive over the southern border, the...

September 30, 2022

OFLC Hurricane Ian Guidance/FAQ

OFLC, Sept. 29, 2022 "U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration OFFICE OF FOREIGN LABOR CERTIFICATION Hurricane Ian Frequently Asked Questions September 29, 2022"

September 29, 2022

Extension of Temporary Waiver of 60-Day Rule for Civil Surgeon Signatures on Form I-693

USCIS, Sept. 29, 2022 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is extending our temporary waiver of the requirement that civil surgeons must sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than 60 days before an individual applies for the underlying immigration benefit (including Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status). The waiver was originally...

September 28, 2022

Habeas/Bond Victory in Colorado: Sheikh v. Choate

Sheikh v. Choate "Pending before the Court are the Verified Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, ECF No. 1; Petitioner’s Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, ECF No. 3; and Petitioner’s Unopposed Motion for Oral Arguments, ECF No. 26. For the reasons stated below, the Petition, ECF No. 1, is GRANTED IN PART, to the extent Petitioner seeks a bond hearing, and DENIED IN PART, to the...

September 27, 2022

EOIR Updates FOIA Request Process

EOIR, Sept. 26, 2022 "The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced that, to more quickly and effectively respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) requests, requestors are strongly encouraged to submit FOIA and PA requests through EOIR’s Public Access Link (PAL). Effective Dec. 1, 2022, EOIR will no longer accept FOIA or PA requests by email. PAL offers several benefits...

September 27, 2022

Burma (Myanmar) TPS Notices

Extension and Redesignation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status Employment Authorization for Burmese F–1 Nonimmigrant Students Experiencing Severe Economic Hardship as a Direct Result of the Current Crisis in Burma (Myanmar)

September 26, 2022

CA9 on FFOA, CIMT: Lara-Garcia v. Garland

Lara-Garcia v. Garland "The BIA held that, in order to qualify for relief under Lujan-Armendariz, a state conviction must have resulted in a sentence of no more than one year of probation. ... In sum, the BIA legally erred by holding that, because he received a sentence of three years of probation, Petitioner’s expungement did not qualify under Lujan-Armendariz. ... The BIA’s alternative reason for denying sua...

September 26, 2022

OFLC Announces 30-Day Public Comment Period for Draft H-2A Frequently Asked Questions Guidance on Temporary or Seasonal Need

OFLC, Sept. 26, 2022 "The Employment and Training Administration’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has published a notice in the  Federal Register  announcing draft Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) guidance for the H-2A temporary agricultural program titled, Round 17:  Temporary or Seasonal Need Assessments; Relevant Information or Factors Related to H-2A Labor Contractors (H-2ALCs) Operating in an...

September 22, 2022

Calixto Settlement (9-22-22)

Calixto v. U.S. Dept. of the Army "ORDERED that the parties' Joint Motion for Certification of Class, Appointment of Class Counsel, and Approval of Settlement Agreement ("Motion") [Dkt. No. 253] is GRANTED; it is FURTHER ORDERED that the following class is certified under Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: a. All soldiers who enlisted in the U.S. Army (including Selected Reserve...

September 22, 2022

Asylum EAD Vacatur Final Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 183 / Thursday, September 22, 2022 "This final rule removes changes to regulatory text resulting from two final rules issued in June 2020, which were vacated by a Federal district court in February 2022. This final rule implements the vacatur by removing certain regulatory text governing asylum applications, interviews, and eligibility for employment authorization and an employment...