November 02, 2021

CA11 on I-864 Defenses: Belevich v. Thomas

Belevich v. Thomas "The question in this appeal is whether certain equitable defenses may excuse an immigrant’s sponsor from her financial obligation to support the immigrant under 8 U.S.C. § 1183a. Tatiana Kuznitsnyna and her daughter, Klavdia Thomas, sponsored Kuznitsnyna’s husband, Valentin Belevich, for admission into the United States by executing Form I-864 affidavits, which the Department of Homeland Security...

November 02, 2021

CA4 on Nexus: Aleman-Medrano v. Garland (Unpub.)

Aleman-Medrano v. Garland "Aleman-Medrano’s central argument on appeal is that the agency [EOIR: the IJ and the BIA] erred at the second step of the analysis, improperly rejecting his claim that he was targeted by gang members “on account of” his family ties to his daughter. We agree and, finding no independent basis on which to affirm the agency’s denial of relief, remand for further proceedings...

November 02, 2021

A Victory for Border Journalism: Villarreal v. City of Laredo

Villarreal v. City of Laredo "If the First Amendment means anything, it surely means that a citizen journalist has the right to ask a public official a question, without fear of being imprisoned. Yet that is exactly what happened here: Priscilla Villarreal was put in jail for asking a police officer a question. If that is not an obvious violation of the Constitution, it’s hard to imagine what would be. And as the...

November 02, 2021

Supremes GVR Garland v. Velasquez

Supreme Court, Nov. 1, 2021 - "GARLAND, ATT'Y GEN., ET AL. V. VELASQUEZ, LEYMIS C., ET AL. The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit for further consideration in light of Sanchez v. Mayorkas, 593 U. S. ___ (2021)."

November 02, 2021

Nevada Supreme Court, En Banc, on Domicile, Residence and Divorce: Senjab v. Alhulaibi (F-1/2 visas)

Senjab v. Alhulaibi "NRS 125.020(2) provides in part that "no court has jurisdiction to grant a divorce unless either the plaintiff or defendant has been resident of the State for a period of not less than 6 weeks preceding the commencement of the action." Although residence and domicile are distinct concepts elsewhere in the law, for divorce jurisdiction, we have long considered residence "synonymous...

November 01, 2021

CA9 (2-1) on Right to Counsel: Usubakunov v. Garland

Usubakunov v. Garland "This is not a case of a petitioner abusing the system or requesting serial delays of his merits hearing—Usubakunov had found an attorney willing to take his case. Although it may be tempting to look for a bright-line rule, we hew to our precedent that the “inquiry is fact-specific and thus varies from case to case.” Biwot, 403 F.3d at 1099. In doing so, we do not suggest that there is “no...

October 30, 2021

Supreme Court to Hear "Public Charge" Case: Arizona v. San Francisco

Supreme Court, Oct. 29, 2021 "20-1775 ARIZONA V. SAN FRANCISCO, CA DECISION BELOW: 944 F.3d 773 Limited to Question 1 presented by the petition CERT. GRANTED 10/29/2021 QUESTION PRESENTED: Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §§1101 et seq., an alien is "inadmissible" if, "in the opinion of the [Secretary of Homeland Security] at the time of application for admission or adjustment...

October 29, 2021

Natz. Victory Slams Matter of Zhang: Melara v. Mayorkas

Melara v. Mayorkas "Matter of Zhang, 27 I&N Dec. 569 (BIA 2019) is not entitled to deference by this Court because it is a dramatic break with past agency interpretation, is in conflict with the Department of State’s current interpretation of the false claim to citizenship ground of inadmissibility, and is a break from Congress’s clearly expressed intent. An agency’s interpretation of an unambiguous statute...

October 29, 2021

DHS Issues A New Memo to Terminate MPP

DHS, Oct. 29, 2021 "Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas today  issued a new memorandum  announcing and explaining his decision to terminate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program. “This Administration is tackling longstanding problems that have plagued our immigration system for decades in order to achieve needed systemic change.  MPP does not help meet this goal,”  said Secretary Mayorkas...

October 29, 2021

MadKudu News (H-1B Market Research Analyst Class Action Settlement)

USCIS, Oct. 28, 2021 - Directions for Class Members Filing Motions to Reopen Pursuant to Settlement Agreement in H-1B Market Research Analyst Class Action Litigation

October 29, 2021

LRIF News (Oct. 29, 2021)

USCIS, Oct. 29, 2021 "USCIS has expanded its guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual about Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) to clarify steps applicants must take if they cannot submit primary evidence of Liberian nationality to support an LRIF-based application for adjustment of status. The deadline to apply to adjust status under LRIF is Dec. 20, 2021. At the time of this update, the Department of State...

October 29, 2021

BIA Amicus Brief Deadline Extended

EOIR, Oct. 29, 2021 "Amicus Invitation No. 21-30-09 AMICUS INVITATION (Record of Conviction) Due October 21, 2021 (Amended) Deadline extended, Due November 19, 2021 November 19, 2021 The Board of Immigration Appeals welcomes interested members of the public to file amicus curiae briefs discussing the below issue: ISSUE PRESENTED: 1. Does Pereida v. Wilkinson, 141 S. Ct. 754 (2021), authorize an Immigration...

October 29, 2021

BIA Botches Standard of Review: Arreaga-Bravo v. Atty. Gen.

Arreaga-Bravo v. Atty. Gen. "When an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) makes findings of fact in relation to an individual’s petition for relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), in reviewing the IJ’s decision, must defer to the IJ’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous. Here, the IJ held that Petitioner Juliana Martirez Arreaga-Bravo demonstrated that...

October 28, 2021

EOIR Adds 24 New IJs

EOIR, Oct. 27, 2021 "The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced 24 new Immigration Judges, including four Assistant Chief Immigration Judges and two Unit Chief Immigration Judges. These 24 adjudicators join the newest member of the Board of Immigration Appeals, Appellate Immigration Judge Andrea Saenz. EOIR recognizes that a diverse and inclusive bench reflects the public we serve, and the...

October 28, 2021

DHS Issues New "Protected Area" Immigration Enforcement Guidelines

DHS, Oct. 27, 2021 - Guidelines for Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas "This memorandum provides guidance for ICE and CBP enforcement actions in or near areas that require special protection. It is effective immediately. This memorandum supersedes and rescinds John Morton’s memorandum entitled, “Enforcement Actions at or Focused on Sensitive Locations” (number 10029.2, dated October 24, 2011), and David...

October 27, 2021

CA5 on Particular Social Group: Jaco v. Garland

Jaco v. Garland "Jaco’s petition makes two arguments. First, that the BIA erred in failing to either consider or remand for consideration of additional proposed “particular social groups” that Jaco raised for the first time on appeal. And second, that the BIA erred in concluding that Jaco’s proposed group—Honduran women who are unable to leave their domestic relationships—is not a “particular social group” within...

October 27, 2021

CA11 on Consular Nonreviewability: Del Valle v. Sec. of State

Del Valle v. Sec. of State "The doctrine of consular non-reviewability, established by the Supreme Court, bars judicial review of a consular official’s decision regarding a visa application if the reason given is “facially legitimate and bona fide.” Kleindienst v. Mandel, 408 U.S. 753, 770 (1972). See also Kerry v. Din, 576 U.S. 86, 103–04 (2015) (Kennedy, J., concurring in the judgment...

October 27, 2021

H-2B Employer to Pay $40K Penalty for Failure to Adequately Consider U.S. Applicants

DOJ, Oct. 27, 2021 "The Department of Justice today announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with Priority Construction Corporation, located in Baltimore, Maryland. The settlement resolves the department’s claims that Priority Construction violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by failing to consider workers in the United States (such as U.S. citizens...

October 27, 2021

Split CA1 Panel on Bond Hearings: Reid v. Donelan

Reid v. Donelan (2-1) - "This class action, brought on behalf of noncitizen detainees held without possibility of release pending the completion of their removal proceedings, comes before this court for a second time. See Reid v. Donelan, 819 F.3d 486 (1st Cir. 2016), cert. denied, 138 S. Ct. 1547 (2018), withdrawn, Nos. 14-1270, 14-1803, 14-1823, 2018 WL 4000993 (1st Cir. May 11, 2018). On this occasion, we affirm...

October 26, 2021

CA1 Equitable Tolling Remand: James v. Garland

James v. Garland "After an immigration judge (IJ) ordered petitioner Andrea Joy James removed from the United States, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissed James's appeal as untimely. In so doing, the BIA failed to address James's request to apply equitable tolling in assessing whether her appeal was timely. For that reason, we vacate the BIA's dismissal of James's appeal and remand for...

October 26, 2021

DOS DV2020 and DV2021 Update (Oct. 25, 2021)

DOS, Oct. 25, 2021 "The Department of State is aware of the various court orders regarding the reservation and adjudication of DV-2020 and DV-2021 diversity visas, which are summarized below. We will publish additional public guidance on this website regarding the Department’s compliance with these orders as it becomes available. On August 17, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in  Gomez...

October 25, 2021

Biden Proclamation on Advancing the Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the COVID-⁠19 Pandemic

White House, Oct. 25, 2021 "... I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 1182(f) and 1185(a) of title 8, United States Code, and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, hereby find that it is in the interests of the United States to advance the resumption of international travel...

October 25, 2021

USCIS RPI: Remote Document Examination for Form I-9

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 10/26/2021 "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking input from the public regarding document examination practices associated with the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. DHS solicits this input to better understand employers’ and employees’ experiences with this process and to examine the impacts of remote document examination...

October 21, 2021

DOS Update on U.S. Travel Policy Requiring COVID-19 Vaccination

State Department, Oct. 15, 2021 "As announced by the White House today, the new travel policy requiring foreign nationals traveling to the United States to demonstrate proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 will take effect November 8.  The CDC’s website explains that, for purposes of entry into the United States, the accepted vaccines will include FDA approved or authorized and WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines...

October 20, 2021

USCIS Updates T Visa Memo (Oct. 20, 2021)

USCIS, Oct. 20, 2021 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is issuing updated and comprehensive guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual on adjudicating applications for T nonimmigrant status (or T visas) submitted by victims of human trafficking, including clarifying how applicants establish eligibility. Our  policy guidance (PDF, 339.32 KB)  clarifies the physical presence eligibility requirement, the age-based...