December 13, 2021

Inside Baseball: FAD, DFF and Litigation - Cyrus D. Mehta

Cyrus Mehta, Dec. 13, 2021 "Several children who filed I-485 applications as derivatives of their Indian born parents under the October 2020 Visa Bulletin are being denied because they turned 21 years before the Final Action Dates became current. The backlogs for India in the employment-based second and third preferences have already caused untold suffering to beneficiaries of approved I-140 petitions who have...

December 13, 2021

CA4 on PSG: Escobar Gomez v. Garland (Unpub., 2-1)

Escobar Gomez v. Garland "Carlos Escobar Gomez seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) dismissal of his application for asylum. The BIA determined that Escobar Gomez was ineligible for asylum because he failed to establish membership in a particular social group defined with sufficient particularity. Because this ruling is not supported by a reasoned explanation, we grant the petition for...

December 13, 2021

Flores Settlement News

Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, Dec. 11, 2021 "Amid pressure from advocates, the Biden administration is reversing course on plans to implement Trump-era regulations that would terminate a long-standing court settlement designed to protect migrant children in U.S. custody, two people familiar with the matter told CBS News. The 2019 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule was part of a pair of regulations...

December 13, 2021

USCIS Reverts to Previous Criteria for Interviewing Petitioners Requesting Derivative Refugee and Asylee Status for Family Members

USCIS, Dec. 10, 2021 "USCIS is rescinding a November 2020 policy memorandum requiring interviews of all petitioners filing  Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition . Effective immediately, USCIS will return to its prior long-standing practice of making case-by-case determinations on whether to interview Form I-730 petitioners.  The policy memorandum, which directed the phased expansion of in-person interviews...

December 13, 2021

DOL ETA OFLC Restores Wage Rule

DOL, Dec. 13, 2021 "The Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has issued a final rule informing the public that OFLC is amending the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), at 20 CFR 655.731 and 656.40, to remove text added through an Interim Final Rule (IFR),  Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Immigrants and Non...

December 10, 2021

DOS DV 2022 Update (Dec. 9, 2021)

State Department, Dec. 9, 2021 " Document Submission to KCC for DV-2022 Effective immediately, individuals who were randomly selected to participate in the diversity visa (DV) program for fiscal year (FY) 2022 (DV-2022 selectees) only need to submit to the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) the DS-260 immigrant visa application form for themselves and any accompanying family members.  Once the DS-260 is received...

December 10, 2021

EOIR Electronic Case Access and Filing Final Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 236 / Monday, December 13, 2021 "On December 4, 2020, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM” or “proposed rule”), proposing to amend EOIR’s regulations in order to implement electronic filing and records applications for all cases before the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). The NPRM also...

December 10, 2021

Advance Copy: Waiver of Personal Appearance and In-Person Oath Requirement for Certain Immigrant Visa Applicants Due to COVID-19

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 12/13/2021 "This temporary final rule (TFR) provides flexibility for consular officers to waive the personal appearance of certain repeat immigrant visa applicants who were approved for an immigrant visa in the same classification and on the same basis as the current application on or after August 4, 2019. It also gives consular officers discretion...

December 10, 2021

Family Reunification News

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 235 / Friday, December 10, 2021 - "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on behalf of the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families (Task Force), is seeking comments from the public on recommendations for ways to minimize the separation of migrant parents and legal guardians and children entering the United States, consistent with the law. This input will help in...

December 10, 2021

TVPA News

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 235 / Friday, December 10, 2021 - ": The Department of State (‘‘the Department’’) requests written information to assist in reporting on the degree to which the United States and foreign governments meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons (‘‘minimum standards’’) that are prescribed by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (‘‘TVPA...

December 09, 2021

Garland Refers G-G-S- Issue to Himself: Matter of B-Z-R-

28 I&N Dec. 424 (A.G. 2021) "BEFORE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(h)(1)(i), I direct the Board of Immigration Appeals (“Board”) to refer this case to me for review of its decision. The Board’s decision in this matter is automatically stayed pending my review. See Matter of Haddam, A.G. Order No. 2380-2001 (Jan. 19, 2001). To assist me in my review, I invite the parties to these proceedings...

December 09, 2021

Patel v. Garland SC Oral Arg. Analysis: Prof. Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia

Prof. Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, Dec. 7, 2021 "The Supreme Court on Monday heard oral argument in  Patel v. Garland ,  an immigration case that raises a question about federal court review for noncitizens who were denied certain types of discretionary relief. For just over 90 minutes, the justices explored statutory text, legislative history, and the presumption of judicial review. The case involves Pankajkumar Patel...

December 09, 2021

Rosario Class Action News (Dec. 7, 2021)

USCIS, Dec. 7, 2021 "On June 22, 2020, USCIS issued a final rule that eliminated the provision that initial (first) employment authorization applications based on a pending asylum application should be adjudicated within 30 days. This rule went into effect on Aug. 21, 2020. In most cases, USCIS is no longer required to adjudicate initial employment authorization applications based on a pending asylum application...

December 09, 2021

H-2B Overtime Memo: WHD

WHD, Dec. 7, 2021 "This Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) provides enforcement guidance on overtime obligations pursuant to the H-2B provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (H-2B visa program)."

December 09, 2021

USCIS Temporarily Waiving 60-Day Rule for Civil Surgeon Signatures

USCIS, Dec. 9, 2021 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is temporarily waiving the requirement that the civil surgeon sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than 60 days before an applicant files an application for the underlying immigration benefit (including Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status), until Sept. 30, 2022.   This...

December 07, 2021

Finally, Some Justice for Immigration Judges!

Two-Year Union-Busting Battle Ends as DOJ Reverses Course and Agrees to Recognize NAIJ, the Judges’ Union NAIJ, Dec. 7, 2021 "In a major reversal, the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which administers the U.S. immigration courts, has agreed to a settlement with the National Association of Immigration Judges to again recognize NAIJ as the exclusive union representative and...

December 07, 2021

NAIJ Decertification News (Dec. 7, 2021)

Alexandra Villarreal and Joanna Walters, The Guardian, Dec. 7, 2021 "US immigration judges are embroiled in a tense dispute with Joe Biden over their battle to restore union rights taken away from them under the Trump administration.  The head of the federal immigration judges’ union has accused the  Biden administration  of “doubling down” on its predecessor’s efforts to freeze out their association even as they...

December 06, 2021

Patel v. Garland SC Oral Argument Transcript

Supreme Court, Dec. 6, 2021 [Read all the briefs here .]

December 03, 2021

Patel v. Garland: SC Oral Argument Case Preview

Dean Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, Dec. 3, 2021 " Patel v. Garland  raises an important question about whether a federal court can review a decision by an agency within the Department of Justice that a noncitizen is ineligible for a green card. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case on Monday. Congress created a process known as “adjustment of status” so that immigrants physically present in the United...

December 02, 2021

CA10 Corrects Massive BIA Failure: Villegas-Castro v. Garland

Villegas-Castro v. Garland "We conclude that the Board erred in three ways. First, the Board erred in overturning the grant of asylum. The Board decided that Mr. Villegas-Castro had not filed a new application. But if he hadn’t filed a new asylum application, he wouldn’t need to show a material change in circumstances. And with the remand, the immigration judge enjoyed discretion to reconsider the availability...

December 02, 2021

Court-Ordered Reimplementation of MPP Policy Guidance (DHS, Dec. 2, 2021)

DHS, Dec. 2, 2021 "As required by a federal court order, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been working in good faith to re-implement the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program.  On December 2, 2021, in coordination with the Departments of State and Justice, DHS announced key changes to MPP to address humanitarian concerns raised by the Government of Mexico and shared by the U.S. Government.  Secretary...

December 01, 2021

Notice of Final Settlement for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) petitioners with California Juvenile Court Dependency Orders

USCIS, Nov. 30, 2021 "Notice of Final Class Action Settlement in A.O. et al. v Jaddou, et al., No. 19-cv-6151 (N.D. Cal) This webpage is intended to notify you of the final class settlement in A.O. et al. v Jaddou, et al., No. 19-cv-6151 (N.D. Cal). For more details, you may access the  final settlement agreement  (PDF, 2.04 MB) . Notice of Final Settlement for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) petitioners...

December 01, 2021

Texas v. USA, 14 F.4th 332, to be Reheard En Banc by CA5, Stay Lifted (Enforcement Priorities)

Order : "A member of the court having requested a poll on the petition for rehearing en banc, and a majority of the circuit judges in regular active service and not disqualified having voted in favor, IT IS ORDERED that this cause shall be reheard by the court en banc with oral argument on a date hereafter to be fixed. The Clerk will specify a briefing schedule for the filing of supplemental briefs. Pursuant to 5th...

December 01, 2021

CBP Policy Statement and Required Actions Regarding Pregnant, Postpartum, Nursing Individuals, and Infants in Custody

CBP, Nov. 29, 2021 " This memorandum  on CBP’s policy and required actions regarding pregnant, postpartum, nursing individuals, and infants establishes formal guidance related to care in custody and documentation requirements consistent with recommendations from the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG Report No. OIG-21-49) made in July 2021.  This is the first action CBP is taking to address the recommendations...

December 01, 2021

DOS on Facilitating USCIS VTC Interviews of Refugee Applicants

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 228 / Wednesday, December 1, 2021 "By virtue of the authority vested in the Secretary of State by the laws of the United States, including 22 U.S.C. 2651a, pursuant to authority delegated by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on August 6, 2021 (DHS Delegation Number 00117), and subject to the DHS Secretary’s oversight, direction, and guidance, I hereby delegate...