USCIS, July 16, 2024 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address the new provisions added to the Immigration and Nationality...
DOS, July 15, 2024 " On June 18, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced actions to more efficiently process employment-based nonimmigrant visas for those who have graduated from college...
Cyrus D. Mehta and Jessica Paszko, July 13, 2024 "Portability under Section 204(j) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) allows certain employment-based green card applicants to change jobs...
This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 07/12/2024 "The Department of State (the Department) publishes a final rule revising the Code of Federal Regulations to amend...
Visa Bulletin for August 2024
Matter of X-, Apr. 12, 2021, unpub.
"The respondent has credibly established that his conviction was pretexual in nature and on account of his political opinion. ... We do not find serious reasons to believe that the respondent committed a serious non-political crime outside of the United States. ... The respondent presented evidence that his home was searched by police officers and he was detained for 7-8 months, during which time his life was threatened and he was subjected to various physical beatings, the last of which rendered him unconscious and resulted in a one-week hospitalization (Tr. at 77-109). Given the evidence presented, we conclude that the respondent has demonstrated that he suffered persecution under the Act. ...
fn.3 - The particularly serious crime bars, as set forth in sections 208(b)(2)(A)(ii) and 241(b)(3)(B)(ii) of the Act, may not be relevant to foreign convictions. We are aware of no precedential decision from any court or administrative tribunal, or any regulatory language, suggesting that these bars so apply to such convictions. Given our finding that the respondent is not subject to the bar, however, we find it unnecessary to resolve this issue in the present matter.
[B]ecause we have found that the respondent suffered past persecution on account of his political opinion, the record will be remanded to allow the DHS an opportunity to rebut the presumption of a well-founded fear of persecution."
[Hats off to Danielle Claffey!]