Maria Sacchetti, Washington Post, Dec. 8, 2023 "A federal judge in San Diego on Friday approved a settlement that prohibits U.S. officials from separating migrant families for crossing the U.S....
USCIS, Dec. 8, 2023 "The employment-based (EB) annual limit for fiscal year (FY) 2024 will be higher than was typical before the pandemic, though lower than in FY 2021-2023. We are dedicated to...
Elliot Spagat, Associated Press, Dec. 8, 2023 "A federal judge was poised Friday to prohibit separation of families at the border for purposes of deterring immigration for eight years, preemptively...
In an unpublished decision dated Dec. 4, 2023 a panel of the Ninth Circuit remanded for a new hearing. The facts are stunning...unless you practice immigration law: "Because Lead Petitioner credibly...
This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 12/07/2023 "The Department of State (“Department”) is amending its regulation governing immigrant visas by removing...
Orozco-Lopez v. Garland
"[W]e hold that non-citizens whose removal orders have been reinstated are statutorily entitled to counsel, at no expense to the government, at their reasonable fear hearings before an IJ. This statutory entitlement is cabined by 8 C.F.R. § 208.31(g)(1)’s requirement that, “[i]n the absence of exceptional circumstances,” such hearings “shall be conducted by the immigration judge within 10 days of the filing of the Notice of Referral to Immigration Judge with the immigration court.” Because this right was denied to Orozco-Lopez, we remand his case to the agency for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. However, Gonzalez’s statutory right to counsel was not violated because he had the opportunity to retain counsel and failed to do so, and his other challenges are without merit. Orozco-Lopez’s petition, No. 20-70127, is GRANTED and REMANDED. Gonzalez’s petition, No. 20-71308, is DENIED."
[Hats off to Chanakya A. Sethi, Alison V. Zoschak, Sabrina Damast, Nadia Dahab, Stephen Manning, Jordan Cunnings, and Tess Hellgren!]