The court upheld USCIS’s finding that the area of extraordinary ability defined by the plaintiff was gymnastics coaching, not gymnastics, and that it was reasonable to find evidence that the beneficiary won an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics insufficient
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: EB-1, eb1, extraordinary ability, USCIS | Leave a comment »
BALCA ordered that certification be granted, concluding that individuals “matched” by a State Workforce Agency (SWA) to a job order are not considered applicants for the PERM position because they have not affirmatively applied for the job.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA), board of labor certification appeals, PERM, state workforce agency, swa | 2 Comments »
USCIS released an updated Affirmative Asylum Scheduling Bulletin as of September 11, 2015. This Bulletin explains how the Asylum Division has prioritized the adjudication of affirmative applications for asylum and provides the filing dates (month and year) of most asylum applications scheduled for local interviews during that particular month.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: adjudication of asylum, asylum, ruling on asylum cases, USCIS | Leave a comment »
DOL posted an alert stating that on September 1, 2015, an update to the PERM case management system caused an unexpected programming glitch to occur, as a result of which, certain information could not be entered on the form. Until the revisions become operational, if you cannot complete and file an ETA Form 9089 online, you should mail in the application to the Atlanta National Processing Center.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: Department of Labor (DOL), DOL, ETA 9089, PERM | Leave a comment »
USCIS announced today that, in conjunction with the Department of State (DOS), it is revising the procedures for determining when an application for adjustment of status may be filed, thus implementing part of President Obama’s November 2014 executive actions on immigration. Starting with the Visa Bulletin for October 2015, there are two important dateslisted on the monthly Visa Bulletin: the “filing date,” which determines when individuals can submit their permanent residence applications, and the “final action” date, which indicates when DOS or USCIS can make a decision on the applications
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: Adjustment of Status, DOS, President Obama, priority date, USCIS, Visa Bulletin | Leave a comment »
Holding that it may only review the denial of a statutory motion to reopen under INA §240(c)(7), the Eighth Circuit found that it lacked jurisdiction to review the denial of the petitioner’s motion to reopen, because the motion requested that the Board of Immigration Appeals reopen the removal proceedings pursuant to its sua sponte discretion under 8 CFR §1003.2(a).
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: 8th circuit, motion to reopen, MTR, sua sponte | Leave a comment »
In a precedent decision issued, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) held that, in making an adverse credibility determination, an Immigration Judge (IJ) can consider significant similarities between statements submitted by different applicants in different proceedings, as long as the IJ gives the applicant meaningful notice of the similarities and a reasonable opportunity to explain them prior to making a credibility determination that is based on the totality of the circumstances.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: BIA, board of immigration appeals, Credibility Determination, IJ, Immigration Judges | Leave a comment »
The Ninth Circuit granted in part the petition for review, holding that the Board of Immigration Appeals erred when it denied the petitioner, a transgender woman from Mexico, relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), because it failed to recognize the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation, and assumed that recent anti-discrimination laws in Mexico have made life safer for transgender individuals, while ignoring significant evidence of violence targeting them. The court remanded for a grant of CAT relief in light of the petitioner’s evidence of past torture and country conditions, which showed a clear probability of future torture with government acquiescence.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: cats, gay, homosexual, ninth circuit, transgender | Leave a comment »
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced the appointment of Jean King to serve as the agency’s next general counsel, effective September 6, 2015. In addition to serving as the EOIR’s acting general counsel for eight months earlier this year, Ms. King has been the deputy general counsel for the agency since December 2012.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: EOIR, executive office for immigration review, general counsel | Leave a comment »
The Ninth Circuit reversed the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of the petitioner’s applications for withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief, holding that the Board erred in finding that the petitioner’s California conviction for voluntary manslaughter constituted a categorical “crime of violence” and a per se “particularly serious crime.” The court also reversed the Board’s denial of the petitioner’s claim for deferral of removal under CAT, and remanded for the Board to consider the aggregate risk of torture arising from the petitioner’s family affiliation together with the risk arising from his status as a criminal deportee.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: categorical analysis, cats, crime of violence, ninth circuit, particularly serious crime | Leave a comment »
Immigration Lawyer
Brian D. Lerner Immigration Attorney & Deportation Lawyer Blog 