May 02, 2024

3,524,051 Cases in the Immigration Court Backlog: TRAC

TRAC, Apr. 2024 "At the end of March 2024, 3,524,051 active cases were pending before the Immigration Court."

May 01, 2024

CA6 Slams BIA re Crime of Violence, Categorical Approach: Sanchez-Perez v. Garland

Sanchez-Perez v. Garland "One day after he pleaded guilty to violating a Tennessee domestic-violence law, the federal government initiated removal proceedings against Jose Yanel Sanchez-Perez. Ultimately, an immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals determined that Sanchez-Perez could not seek cancellation of removal due to this conviction. The Board of Immigration Appeals improperly determined that...

April 30, 2024

DOS, USCIS Discuss T/U Visa Biometrics

In a letter dated April 12, 2024 the State Department and USCIS discuss "concerns about biometrics collection for applicants for T nonimmigrant status and petitioners for U nonimmigrant status abroad that resulted from COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns."

April 30, 2024

Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 84 / Tuesday, April 30, 2024 "This final rule adopts and replaces regulations relating to key aspects of the placement, care, and services provided to unaccompanied children referred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), pursuant to ORR’s responsibilities for coordinating and implementing the care and placement of unaccompanied children who are in Federal custody by...

April 29, 2024

Cert. Granted: Bouarfa v. Mayorkas

Bouarfa v. Mayorkas Issue: Whether a visa petitioner may obtain judicial review when an approved petition is revoked on the basis of nondiscretionary criteria. Case below: 75 F.4th 1157 (11th Cir. 2023) Cert. pet. here . 2023 U.S. S. CT. BRIEFS LEXIS 3686 Amicus brief here . 2024 U.S. S. CT. BRIEFS LEXIS 15 DHS opp. brief here . 2024 U.S. S. CT. BRIEFS LEXIS 785 Reply brief here . 2024 U.S. S. CT. BRIEFS LEXIS...

April 29, 2024

T Visa Final Rule (eff. Aug. 28, 2024)

Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 84 / Tuesday, April 30, 2024 "On December 19, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an interim final rule (2016 interim rule) amending its regulations governing the requirements and procedures for victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons seeking T nonimmigrant status. The 2016 interim rule amended the regulations to conform with legislation enacted after...

April 26, 2024

Progress in Class Action Suit for Ukrainian Parolees Denied Work Authorization

IMMpact Litigation, Apr. 25, 2024 "IMMpact Litigation, seeking redress for over 100,000 Ukrainian nationals paroled into the United States post-February 2022, today announces a significant advancement in their ongoing class action lawsuit against the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). IMMpact sued USCIS in August 2022 for failing to carry out provisions in the 2022 Ukraine supplemental...

April 26, 2024

DOL Finalizes H-2A Rule (eff. June 28, 2024)

DOL, Apr. 26, 2024 "The Department of Labor today announced a final rule to strengthen protections for farmworkers . The rule targets vulnerability and abuses experienced by workers under the H-2A program that undermine fair labor standards for all farmworkers in the U.S. The H-2A program allows employers to hire temporary foreign workers when the department determines there is a lack of able, willing and qualified...

April 24, 2024

Legal Challenge Prompts USCIS to Release Key Immigration Manuals to the Public

NILA, Apr. 24, 2024 "The National Immigration Litigation Alliance (NILA) and Innovation Law Lab are thrilled to announce that, in response to the lawsuit we filed against the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), USCIS has made two important immigration staff manuals available to the public in its electronic reading room . The release of these documents is a critical step for ensuring transparency...

April 24, 2024

Advocates File Lawsuit Challenging CBP’s Chronic Delays in Responding to FOIA Requests

NILA, Apr. 24, 2024 "Today, three immigration attorneys and two individuals filed a prospective class action lawsuit in federal court, challenging U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) nationwide practice of failing to timely respond to requests for immigration records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA gives individuals the right to access information that the federal government possesses...

April 24, 2024

USCIS to Open International Field Offices in Qatar and Turkey

USCIS, Apr. 23, 2024 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the upcoming opening of international field offices in Doha, Qatar, and Ankara, Turkey, to increase capacity for refugee processing, strengthen strategic partnerships, and facilitate interagency cooperation. “Opening these field offices establishes a USCIS presence and expertise in critical locations in the Middle East...

April 24, 2024

CA10 on Asylum, Chevron: Rangel-Fuentes v. Garland

Rangel-Fuentes v. Garland "Cristina Rangel-Fuentes petitions for review of a final order of removal issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), arguing that under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(1)(D), the age of a qualifying child for the purposes of the cancellation of removal should be fixed no later than the date the immigration judge closes the administrative record. In the alternative, Rangel argues that Tenth...

April 24, 2024

Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule (Advance Copy)

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 04/30/2024 "This final rule adopts and replaces regulations relating to key aspects of the placement, care, and services provided to unaccompanied children referred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), pursuant to ORR’s responsibilities for coordinating and implementing the care and placement of unaccompanied children who are in...

April 23, 2024

Department of State v. Muñoz: Supreme Court Oral Argument Transcript

Department of State v. Muñoz

April 22, 2024

DOS Final Rule; Exchange Visitor Program; Advance Copy

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 04/23/2024 "On March 28, 2023, the U.S. Department of State (Department of State) published in the Federal Register an interim final rule with request for comment (2023 Interim Final Rule) for the Exchange Visitor Program regulations that apply to sponsors the Department of State designates to conduct international educational and cultural exchange...

April 18, 2024

Challenge to Asylum IFR Fails - Arizona v. Garland

Arizona v. Garland "This is a challenge by 19 states to an administrative action of the Executive Branch establishing a new procedure for adjudicating asylum applications under federal immigration law. The new process – set forth in an Interim Final Rule (the “Asylum IFR”) promulgated by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security (“DOJ” and “DHS,” respectively) –...

April 18, 2024

Citizenship Victory in MN - Moran v. Mayorkas

Moran v. Mayorkas "At the time of Mr. Valadez Moran's birth, it is more likely than not that his mother, Ms. Moran, was a citizen of the United States by virtue of her birth in Elsa, Texas on April 27, 1975. U.S. Const. amend. XIV § 1. It is more likely than not that Ms. Moran was physically in the United States for a period of at least five years (from 1987 to 1992), and that she was older than the age...

April 18, 2024

J-1 MOC - Japan (eff. Apr. 5, 2024)

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 04/19/2024 "Notice of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) between the Government of the United States and the Government of Japan and waiver of a regulatory requirement. SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Visitor Program regulations, the Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), U.S. Department of...

April 17, 2024

Mar. 20, 2024 AILA DOS Liaison Meeting Minutes

Courtesy of AILA; AILA Doc. 24022603 "The Department of State’s Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Consular Affairs (L/CA), in coordination with the Visa Office in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, appreciates the opportunity to continue the semi-annual engagements with the AILA DOS Liaison Committee. We believe these discussions, and publication of Department responses to issues raised by AILA on Travel...

April 12, 2024

CA6 on Abuse of Discretion: Abdulahad v. Garland

Abdulahad v. Garland "Walid Abdulahad petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (the “Board”) denial of his motion to reopen based on changed country conditions in Iraq. The Board denied the motion to reopen because it found that Abdulahad’s motion evidence was cumulative of evidence submitted with prior motions to reopen, Abdulahad had not established a particularized risk...

April 12, 2024

Employment Authorization for Ethiopian F-1 Nonimmigrant Students Experiencing Severe Economic Hardship as a Direct Result of the Current Armed Conflict and the Current Humanitarian Crisis in Ethiopia: Advance Copy

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 04/15/2024 "The Department of Homeland Security is suspending certain regulatory requirements for F-1 nonimmigrant students from Ethiopia who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the current armed conflict and the current humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia. The Secretary is providing relief to these students who are in...

April 12, 2024

Extension and Redesignation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status: Advance Copy

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 04/15/2024 "Through this notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) is extending the designation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, beginning on June 13, 2024, and ending on December 12, 2025. This extension allows existing TPS beneficiaries to retain...

April 12, 2024

Employment Authorization for Certain Palestinian F-1 Nonimmigrant Students Experiencing Severe Economic Hardship as a Direct Result of the Current Humanitarian Crisis in the Palestinian Territories: Advance Copy

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 04/15/2024 "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is suspending certain regulatory requirements for certain Palestinian F-1 nonimmigrant students who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the current humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian Territories. The Secretary is providing relief to these students who are in...

April 12, 2024

Implementation of Employment Authorization for Individuals Covered by Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Palestinians: Advance Copy

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 04/15/2024 "On February 14, 2024, President Joseph Biden issued a memorandum to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) determining that it was in the foreign policy interest of the United States to defer for 18 months, the removal of certain Palestinians present in the United States and to provide them with...

April 11, 2024

Last Day to Apply for BIA Opening (Apr. 12, 2024)

Appellate Immigration Judge "This position is in the Board of Immigration Appeals, within the Executive Office for Immigration Review. The incumbent reports to a Deputy Chief Appellate Immigration Judge, who in turn reports to the Chief Appellate Immigration Judge. ... Open & closing dates: 03/13/2024 to 04/12/2024 ... Salary: $156,924 - $204,000 per year"