June 06, 2023

ICE SEVP Broadcast Message: Termination of SEVP COVID-19 Flexibilities

ICE, May 11, 2023 "General Information President Biden announced the termination of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency, effective on May 11, 2023, following the termination of the COVID-19 National Emergency on April 10, 2023. While the Student and Exchange Visitor Program’s (SEVP) COVID-19 guidance is terminated as of May 11, 2023, Active F and M nonimmigrant students will be...

June 06, 2023

Nonimmigrant Visa Fee Increases to Take Effect June 17, 2023

State Department, June 2, 2023 "On June 17, 2023, the nonimmigrant visa (NIV) application processing fee for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2s and BCCs), and other non-petition based NIVs such as student and exchange visitor visas (F, M, and J visas), will increase from $160 to $185. The fee for certain petition-based NIVs for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will increase from $190...

June 05, 2023

EOIR Job Opening: Attorney Advisor

EOIR, June 5, 2023 " EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR IMMIGRATION REVIEW (EOIR) OFFICE OF POLICY ATTORNEY 5107 LEESBURG PIKE FALLS CHURCH , VA 22041 UNITED STATES EOIR-23-0061 About the Office: This position is located in the Office of Policy, Executive Office for Immigration Review, U. S. Department of Justice. This position may be eligible for remote work...

June 05, 2023

ETA 9089: The Haunting

Cyrus D. Mehta, Kaitlyn Box, June 5, 2023 "The new ETA 9089 form has gone into effect and DOL stopped using the old version of the form on the evening of May 31, 2023. The new form does not have Box H.10-B. In our previous blog , we discussed the rise in PERM labor certification denials related to question H.10-B between October 2022 and March 2023. Does that mean that the problem has gone away? Not entirely, since...

June 01, 2023

Remembering Mark Von Stenberg Through Matter of Recinas

Cyrus Mehta, May 29, 2023 "I write this blog in fond memory of Mark Von Sternberg who passed away on May 16, 2023. Mark was a brilliant lawyer, scholar and writer who worked very hard on behalf of the most vulnerable immigrants. He was a Senior Attorney with Catholic Charities Community Services/Archdiocese of New York where he concentrated his practice in defending noncitizens in removal proceedings. Mark was...

May 31, 2023

CA1 on Realistic Probability: Portillo v. DHS

Portillo v. DHS "Gerardo A. Portillo petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") affirming his order of removal and denying his application for adjustment of status. Because we find that a conviction under Massachusetts General Laws ("MGL") ch. 269, § 11C is not categorically a firearm offense as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(C), we grant the petition...

May 31, 2023

Diversity Visa 2024 Update

State Department, May 30, 2023 "Document Submission to KCC suspended for DV-2024 and onward. Effective for the Diversity Visa (DV) program for fiscal year 2024 (DV-2024) and onward, 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 a DS-260 is received from the selectee, KCC will review it for...

May 31, 2023

ICE Lawyers Claim "No Show" Rights

In this document , provided by a "veteran immigration practitioner," ICE claims that its attorneys need not be present in every case in Immigration Court. Read more at PWS's latest post .

May 31, 2023

DOS TFR for Certain Afghan IV Applicants

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 06/01/2023 "This final rule (TFR) temporarily amends Department of State (Department) regulations to provide that Afghan nationals applying for an immigrant visa as an immediate relative as defined in the INA or in a family preference immigrant visas category are exempt from the requirement to pay an immigrant visa (IV) application processing...

May 31, 2023

Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds (TRIG) Training Materials for Asylum Officers

David L. Cleveland, May 29, 2023 "US-CIS, in response to a FOIA lawsuit by the Louise Trauma Center, released 109 pages of training materials, dated December 2019, that it gave to its asylum officers. This article will quote some of the material. The pages are available on the “Asylum Officer Materials” page at www.louisetrauma.weebly.com , entitled “National Security part 1 [2019];” “National...

May 31, 2023

Organizations Reach Settlement in Case Brought to Protect Medically Vulnerable People Detained by ICE

NWIRP, May 30, 2023 "The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington approved a settlement agreement today in Favela Avendaño v. Bostock, a case brought in 2020 by Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Washington on behalf of immigrants detained at the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington who are at high risk for serious...

May 26, 2023

OFLC Posts 9089 News (May 26, 2023)

OFLC, May 26, 2023 1.   OFLC announces case submission for the Form ETA 9089 for PERM in FLAG on June 1, 2023 OFLC previously announced a delay to the date on which it will transition PERM submission and processing to the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) and the concurrent implementation of the revised Form ETA 9089. In response to stakeholder requests, OFLC used this delay to work with the Department’s Office...

May 25, 2023

Advance Copy: DOS Delays Visa Fee Final Rule Effective Date

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 05/26/2023 "The Department of State (the Department) is delaying the effective date of a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on March 28, 2023, to provide for a 60-day delay in the effective date after receipt of the final rule in the Congress. DATES: The effective date of the rule amending 22 CFR part 22 published at 88 FR 18243...

May 24, 2023

ICE: Update Guidance on F, M Visa Issuance

ICE, May 2, 2023 "In February 2023, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) provided updated guidance that consular officers can now issue an F or M student visa up to 365 days in advance of an international student’s program start date. This new guidance does not change the requirement for issuing Forms I-20, “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status,” in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information...

May 23, 2023

Termination in the Twilight Zone When the I-485 Application Has Been Pending for Less Than 180 Days

Cyrus D. Mehta & Jessica Paszko, May 23, 2023 "Just a couple of months ago we considered the  options available to terminated H-1B workers who want to become entrepreneurs . Since then, layoffs have not abated and we’ve continued thinking about the options available to laid off nonimmigrant workers. This time, we consider the options available to H-1B workers whose employers have filed I-485 adjustment of status...

May 23, 2023

DOS on "Administrative Processing"

State Department, May 19, 2023 "The Department of State is processing visas more efficiently than ever while upholding our national security responsibilities.  We are continuously reducing the time required for “administrative processing,” a range of various additional steps that must be taken before a consular officer can complete a visa application, which can include additional national security vetting.  We...

May 23, 2023

USCIS Policy Alert: Removing Guidance Related to the 2020 Civics Test (May 4, 2023)

USCIS, May 4, 2023 "On December 1, 2020, USCIS implemented a revised naturalization civics test (“2020 civics test”). However, USCIS reverted to using the 2008 test on March 1, 2021. For a brief period of time, USCIS offered both the 2020 and 2008 versions of the test to accommodate certain applicants who may have already been studying for the 2020 test. However, USCIS no longer administers the 2020 civics test...

May 23, 2023

Matter of Pougatchev, 28 I&N Dec. 719 (BIA 2023) (2-1)

Matter of Pougatchev, 28 I&N Dec. 719 (BIA 2023) (2-1) (1) A conviction for burglary of a building under section 140.25(1)(d) of the New York Penal Law is not categorically an aggravated felony burglary offense under section 101(a)(43)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G) (2018), because the statute is overbroad and indivisible with respect to the definition of “building” under New...

May 22, 2023

CA5 on Defective NTA: Luna v. Garland

Luna v. Garland (unpub.) "Dagoberto Luna petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ dismissal of his appeal of an immigration judge’s denial of his motion to rescind an in absentia removal order. Luna contends he received a defective Notice to Appear that renders the in absentia removal order invalid. We agree. We GRANT Luna’s petition, VACATE, and REMAND for further proceedings." [Hats off...

May 19, 2023

Practice Advisory: Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies in Petitions for Review

NILA, May 16, 2023 "On May 11, 2023, the Supreme Court, in Santos-Zacaria v. Garland, 598 U. S. _, _ S. Ct. _, [2023 U.S. LEXIS 1891], 2023 WL 3356525 (2023), addressed 8 U.S.C. § 1252(d), the statutory exhaustion provision governing immigration petitions for review of removal orders. This advisory first explains what statutory exhaustion under § 1252(d) is and how it is distinct from issue exhaustion before the...

May 19, 2023

CA11 on VAWA, "Extreme Cruelty," Chevron: Ruiz v. Atty. Gen.

Ruiz v. Atty. Gen. "Esmelda Ruiz, a native and citizen of Peru, appeals the Board of Immigration Appeals’ determination that she is ineligible for relief under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(2), a provision whose language was originally adopted as part of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and that outlines the conditions under which certain “battered spouse[s] or child[ren]” qualify for discretionary cancellation of...

May 18, 2023

USCIS Updates Review Process for the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans

USCIS, May 18, 2023 "The U.S. government is granting advance travel authorization for up to 30,000 noncitizens each month to come to the United States to seek parole on a case-by-case basis under the  processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans . Due to high interest in these processes, USCIS is updating the review process effective May 17, 2023. We are updating the review process because the...

May 17, 2023

OPLA Asylum Training Materials

David L. Cleveland, May 16, 2023 - "The Office of Principal Legal Advisor, [OPLA], a component of ICE, released a 321-page document:“Asylum and Protection Law,” [September 9, 2021], in response to a FOIA lawsuit by the Louise Trauma Center. This article will quote some of the material. The pages are available on the “Political Opinion” page at  www.louisetrauma.weebly.com , entitled “OPLA Asylum September 2021.”...

May 17, 2023

"Income" Defined for I-864 Purposes: Asilonu v. Okeiyi

Asilonu v. Okeiyi "The plaintiff, Anoruo Asilonu, alleges that the defendant, Dr. Esther Okeiyi, signed a Form I-864 to serve as a financial sponsor for Mr. Asilonu, who sought to immigrate to the United States. If she did sign and submit this form, then by statute she assumed a contractual obligation to maintain the plaintiff at an annual income of at least 125% of the federal poverty line. See 8 U.S.C. § 1183a...

May 17, 2023

Kellogg Has Reared its Ugly Head in the New Labor Certification Form: How Do We Deal with Alternate Requirements?

Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box, May 16, 2023 "Our most  recent blog  in this series discusses the new Application for Permanent Employment Certification, Form ETA 9089 (“ETA 9089”) and corresponding Application for Prevailing Wage Determination, Form ETA 9141 (“ETA 9141”) promulgated by the Department of Labor (DOL), and, specifically, how issues concerning dual representation and familial relationships can be...