September 21, 2022

Alianza Americas v. DeSantis

Alianza Americas v. DeSantis "... On information and belief, the Defendants procured and paid $615,000 for private chartered planes ($12,300 per passenger), transported class members to the aircrafts, and told them they were flying to Boston or Washington, D.C., which was completely false. Instead, the chartered airplanes dropped Plaintiffs off on Martha’s Vineyard in the evening, with no food, water or shelter...

September 19, 2022

EOIR to Hold Regional Stakeholder Meetings Regarding Internet-Based Hearings

EOIR, Sept. 19, 2022 "The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) invites interested parties to attend a regional stakeholder meeting regarding internet-based hearings. During the regional stakeholder meeting, senior officials from the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge with oversight of the specific region will clarify the agency’s use of internet-based hearings, particularly in light of Director’s Memorandum...

September 16, 2022

CA9 on Standard of Review: Chavez-Escamilla v. Garland

Chavez-Escamilla v. Garland (unpub.) "Chavez-Escamilla argues that the BIA erred in applying the clearly erroneous standard because it did not defer to the IJ’s factual findings. ... The BIA failed to correctly apply the clearly erroneous standard. While the BIA indicated disagreement with the IJ’s findings, it did not explain why the IJ’s decision was illogical, implausible, or without support. ... Clear error...

September 16, 2022

CA2 on Evidence: Santiaguez v. Garland

Santiaguez v. Garland (unpub.) "Santiaguez contends that the agency failed to appropriately weigh evidence demonstrating that he faced a risk of torture if he returned to Mexico due to his status as an indigenous gay man and advocate for transgender rights. In denying his petition for CAT relief, the agency acknowledged that Santiaguez is an indigenous gay man and LGBT activist and that there is widespread violence...

September 16, 2022

CA4 on Corroboration: Garcia Rogel v. Garland

Garcia Rogel v. Garland (unpub.) "Petitioner ... argues that even if the police report was properly admitted into evidence, the IJ erred by giving the report substantial weight, contrary to In re Arreguin de Rodriguez, 21 I. & N. Dec. 38 (B.I.A. 1995). ... We agree with Petitioner that the IJ in this case did not comply with Arreguin. Arreguin directs that arrest records that did not result in a conviction...

September 16, 2022

Colo. Ct. App. on ICE Detainers: Cisneros v. Elder

Cisneros v. Elder "The CGIA provides that sovereign immunity is waived for injuries that result from the operation of a jail. The sheriff argues that the conduct alleged in this case — that he refused to release plaintiff (after plaintiff posted bond) to comply with a hold placed on plaintiff by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — does not come within the definition of operation of a jail. We disagree. ...

September 16, 2022

USCIS to Implement Next Phase of Premium Processing for Certain Previously Filed EB-1 and EB-2 Form I-140 Petitions

USCIS, Sept. 15, 2022 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is implementing the next phase of the premium processing expansion for certain petitioners who have a pending  Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers , under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications. Similar to the  first phase  and  second phase  of the expansion, this phase only applies to certain previously filed Form I-140 petitions under...

September 15, 2022

CA3 on Access to Counsel: Freza v. Atty. Gen.

Freza v. Atty. Gen. "We are hard pressed to find a more compelling set of facts constituting a violation of Freza’s due process and statutory right to counsel. After Freza diligently sought counsel while incarcerated, he was finally able to obtain counsel the day before his rescheduled merits hearing. However, when that counsel moved for a 30-day continuance so that she could prepare to adequately represent him...

September 15, 2022

Biden’s Asylum Processing Rule: Three Months in, What Practitioners Need to Know

NIPNLG, Sept. 7, 2022 "The Asylum Processing Rule is a significant regulatory change under the Biden administration that allows Asylum Officers to conduct Asylum Merits Interviews of certain asylum seekers who have passed credible fear interviews rather than having those cases referred directly to the immigration court. The Rule was issued as an Interim Final Rule and took effect on May 31, 2022. ..."

September 15, 2022

CA2 on Continuances, Abuse of Discretion: Martinez Roman v. Garland

Martinez Roman v. Garland "Petitioner Marco Antonio Martinez Roman (“Martinez”), a native and citizen of Mexico, seeks review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decision affirming the decision of an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denying Martinez’s application for cancellation of removal. In re Marco Antonio Martinez Roman, No. A201-347-082 (B.I.A. Sept. 30, 2020), aff’g No. A201-347-082 (Immig. Ct. N.Y. City...

September 15, 2022

BIA Pro Bono Project News (Sept. 15, 2022)

EOIR, Sept. 15, 2022 "As part of EOIR’s “Access EOIR” initiative, the agency is seeking to revise its Form  EOIR-26 ,  Notice of Appeal from a Decision of an Immigration Judge,  to include a section for unrepresented respondents to consent to have their case be considered for inclusion in the BIA Pro Bono Project. To learn more, review the federal register  notice . The BIA Pro Bono Project works to increase pro...

September 14, 2022

CA9 on Substantial Evidence, Past Persecution: Singh v. Garland

Singh v. Garland Court Staff Summary: "Granting in part and denying in part Shamsher Singh’s petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals, and remanding, the panel held that substantial evidence did not support the BIA’s determination that the harm Singh suffered did not rise to the level of past persecution, but substantial evidence did support the BIA’s determination that the harm did...

September 14, 2022

USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for First Half of FY 2023

USCIS, Sept. 14, 2022 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap on H-2B visas for temporary nonagricultural workers for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2023. Sept. 12, 2022 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2023. USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B...

September 13, 2022

Calixto Updates: NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND FAIRNESS HEARING

MAVNI Class Action Litigation IMPORTANT TIME-SENSITIVE NOTICE REGARDING  Calixto, et al. v. United States Department of the Army, et al. , Civil Action No. 18-1551   NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND FAIRNESS HEARING Per the Court’s September 10, 2022 Order (attached as  Calixto  Docket 254 ), there will be a fairness hearing before United States District Judge Paul L. Friedman on September 21, 2022...

September 13, 2022

Advance Copy: EOIR Final Rule, Limited Appearances

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 09/14/2022 "On March 27, 2019, the Department of Justice (the Department) published in the Federal Register an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit public comments regarding whether the Department should allow practitioners who appear before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to engage in limited representation...

September 12, 2022

EOIR Director's Memo: The Asylum Procedures Rule (Aug. 26, 2022)

EOIR, Aug. 26, 2022 "... Going forward under the interim final rule, immigration judges will continue to review asylum officers’ credible fear determinations. They will also adjudicate cases in the new streamlined removal proceedings, with the benefit of the USCIS record, if USCIS does not grant asylum. Appellate immigration judges will adjudicate appeals arising out of streamlined removal proceedings. This memorandum...

September 09, 2022

Garcia Ramirez v. ICE Settlement (Unlawful Detention, Immigrant Youth)

AIC, Sept. 7, 2022 "This lawsuit challenged Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) practice of transferring unaccompanied minors who turn 18 years old to adult custody in the agency’s contracted jails and prisons, without considering less restrictive placements. In many cases, youth were sent to ICE detention even if they had sponsors waiting to take them in. Following a four-week trial in December 2019...

September 09, 2022

Public Charge Final Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 174 / Friday, September 9, 2022 "SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending its regulations to prescribe how it determines whether noncitizens are inadmissible to the United States because they are likely at any time to become a public charge. Noncitizens who are applicants for visas, admission, and adjustment of status must establish that they are not likely...

September 08, 2022

Venezuela TPS FR Notices (Sept. 8, 2022)

Employment Authorization for Venezuelan F–1 Nonimmigrant Students Experiencing Severe Economic Hardship as a Direct Result of the Humanitarian Crisis in Venezuela Extension of the Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status

September 07, 2022

Visa Bulletin for October 2022

Visa Bulletin for October 2022 Notes... ...E.   RETROGRESSION OF CHINA-MAINLAND BORN FINAL ACTION DATE AND IMPOSITION OF INDIA FINAL ACTION DATE IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED FIFTH PREFERENCE UNRESERVED CATEGORIES (INCLUDING C5, T5, I5, AND R5)  It was necessary to retrogress the final action date for the China-mainland born Employment-Based Fifth Preference unreserved categories due to heavy demand for numbers, primarily...

September 07, 2022

Oral Argument Transcript: Matter of Fernandes

Thanks to Matthew Hoppock , we have the transcript of the Feb. 25, 2022 oral argument in Matter of Fernandes, 28 I&N Dec. 605 .  Stay tuned for reaction/analysis by practitioners and scholars...

September 02, 2022

Another CA5 Pereira / Niz-Chavez Remand: Parada v. Garland - Now Published!

Parada v. Garland "[T]he BIA’s decision to deny Parada’s motion to reopen was based on a legally erroneous interpretation of the statutes governing Notices to Appear and the stop-time rule. The Supreme Court has since reinforced the holding of Pereira and held—again— that to trigger the stop-time rule, a Notice to Appear must come in the form of “a single document containing all the information an individual needs...

September 02, 2022

EOIR to Open Sterling, VA Immigration Court

EOIR, Sept. 2, 2022 "The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced it will open a new immigration court in Sterling, Virginia, on Oct. 3, 2022. The Sterling Immigration Court will include 19 immigration judges. It will be the second immigration court to open in the National Capital Region this calendar year. EOIR is in the process of sending official notification of a change of hearing location...

September 02, 2022

Extension/Expansion of DED/EADs for Certain Liberians

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 09/06/2022 "On June 27, 2022, President Joseph Biden issued a memorandum to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) determining that it was in the foreign policy interest of the United States to defer, through June 30, 2024, the removal of certain Liberian nationals, and individuals having no nationality who...

September 01, 2022

CA3 on Credibility, CAT: Njoka v. Garland

Njoka v. Garland (unpub.) "[W]e conclude that the Board erred in affirming the IJ’s denial of CAT protection. The Board’s sole justification for that affirmance was the adverse credibility finding. The Board suggested that, under Fifth Circuit precedent, an adverse credibility finding defeats a claim for CAT protection. See Ghotra v. Whitaker, 912 F.3d 284, 289 (5th Cir. 2019). But under the law of...