BALCA reversed the Center Director’s prevailing wage determination, finding that, pursuant to 20 CFR §656.40, an otherwise qualifying employer-provided survey cannot be rejected based on the absence of an arithmetic mean wage.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: BALCA, Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA), PERM, Prevailing Wage | Leave a comment »
The Eighth Circuit denied the petition for review, holding that substantial evidence supported the Board of Immigration Appeals’ finding that the petitioner falsely claimed U.S. citizenship on a Form I-9 when he applied for a job in 2009. Accordingly, the court found that the petitioner was inadmissible under INA §212(a)(6)(C)(ii)(I), and was thus ineligible for adjustment of status.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: adjument of status, AOS, claim to US Citizenship, false claim to US Citizenship, I-9, i9, USCIS | Leave a comment »
The Ninth Circuit reversed the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of the petitioner’s adjustment of status application, finding that the petitioner reasonably relied on Acosta v. Gonzales, which was the law of the circuit in effect at the time he applied to adjust status, but which was later overruled by Garfias-Rodriguez v. Holder. The court held that the BIA’s decision in Matter of Briones should not be applied retroactively to bar the petitioner’s application, because the petitioner’s reliance interests and the burden that retroactivity would impose on him outweighed the interest in uniform application of the immigration laws.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: 245(i), 9th circuit, briones, Illegal Reentry, ninth circuit | Leave a comment »
An article in the Washington Post shares the immigration story of Miguel Aguilar, who at age 11 fled his hometown in Mexico to escape escalating violence, and who now plays professional soccer for the D.C. United team. Two-and-a-half years ago, Mr. Aguilar was granted DACA, and is believed to be the first DACA recipient to sign a major league sports contract.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: DACA, deferred action, miguel aguilar | Leave a comment »
Forbes reports on the current state of the EB-5 investor immigrant program and reauthorization efforts, stating “it seems doubtful that anything more ambitious than a short-term extension of the existing EB-5 program will be passed before the September 30th expiration date. The only problem with a short-term extension is that it will place the fate of any renewal of the program right in the middle of the 2016 Congressional elections and the Presidential campaign.”
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: EB-5, eb5, investor visa | Leave a comment »
The Ninth Circuit held that the statutory criminal bar to judicial review, INA §242(a)(2)(C), does not strip the court of jurisdiction to review the denial of a procedural motion, such as a motion for a continuance, that rests on a ground independent of the conviction that triggered the bar. The court denied the petition for review, however, because it found that the Immigration Judge did not abuse his discretion in denying the petitioner’s motion to continue.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: 9th circuit, jurisdiction of appellate court, jurisdictional stripping, motion to continue, ninth circuit, Petition for Review | Leave a comment »
The Ninth Circuit granted the petition for review, holding that the petitioner was entitled to equitable tolling of his untimely motion to reopen, because his lawyer’s advice to pursue a form of immigration relief for which the petitioner was statutorily ineligible constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. The court remanded to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) with instructions to grant the petitioner’s motion to reopen.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: BIA, board of immigration appeals, iac, ineffective assistance of counsel, motion to reopen, MTR | Leave a comment »
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) issued a security directive prohibiting use by the public of electronic devices, including cell phones, cameras, laptops, tablets, and MP3 players, in EOIR space, encompassing courtrooms, entrances/exits, corridors, conference rooms, and waiting areas. Attorneys or representatives of record, active members of a State Bar, and DHS attorneys representing the government in proceedings before the EOIR are permitted to use electronic devices in EOIR space for the limited purpose of conducting relevant court or business activities.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: cell phone, electronic devices, EOIR, Immigration Court | Leave a comment »
In a precedent decision issued today, the BIA held that where an applicant filed an asylum application before the May 11, 2005, effective date of the REAL ID Act of 2005, and, on or after that date, submitted a subsequent application that is properly viewed as a new application, the later filing date controls for purposes of determining the applicability of INA §208(b)(1)(B)(iii) to credibility determinations. The BIA further held that a subsequent asylum application is properly viewed as a new application if it presents a previously unraised basis for relief, or is predicated on a new or substantially different factual basis.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: asylum, Credibility Determination | Leave a comment »
Matter of D-M-C-P, 26 I&N Dec. 644 (BIA 2015)
(1) Neither an Immigration Judge nor the Board of Immigration Appeals has jurisdiction to consider whether asylum-only proceedings were improvidently instituted pursuant to a referral under the Visa Waiver Program.
(2) It is improper to deem an application for relief abandoned based on the applicant’s failure to comply with the biometrics filing requirement where the record does not reflect that the applicant received notification advisories concerning that requirement, was given a deadline for submitting the biometrics, and was advised of the consequences of his or her failure to comply.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: asylum, biometrics, IJ, Immigration Judges | Leave a comment »
Immigration Lawyer
Brian D. Lerner Immigration Attorney & Deportation Lawyer Blog 