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Interesting possible T Visa Case

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado denied motions to dismiss Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and unjust enrichment claims in a federal class action lawsuit filed by nine federal immigrant detainees against The GEO Group, Inc., a private prison contractor, alleging violations for unpaid wages and forced labor. This is the first time that a court has found that a for-profit immigrant detention contractor may be held liable for violating the TVPA.

Sudan immigration has started again

The State Department announced that the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, has resumed immigrant visa processing in Sudan for the first time in nearly 20 years. Starting in July 2015, applicants for all categories of immigrant visas will be able to interview and process their visas in Khartoum.

Ineffective Assistance of Counsel grounds to overturn conviction

The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of a petition for a writ of error coram nobis, finding that the rule in United States v. Kwan—affirmative misrepresentations by defense counsel regarding immigration consequences of a conviction can constitute the basis for an ineffective assistance of counsel claim—survives Padilla v. Kentucky, is not controlled by Chaidez v. United States, and does not establish a new rule of criminal procedure. The court thus found that Kwan could be applied retroactively to support the petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim, and remanded for the district court to evaluate the merits of the petition.

Seems the Immigration Judge might have been predisposed to rule against applicant

The First Circuit vacated the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order denying the petitioner’s asylum claim and remanded for reconsideration of the credibility determination, finding that purported omissions and discrepancies upon which the Immigration Judge based an adverse credibility determination were consistently present in the record.

BALCA reversed the denial, finding that the omission of a Spanish language requirement in the Notice of Filing (NOF) was not by itself fatal to the application where the overall text of the NOF was sufficient to apprise U.S. workers of the job opportunity.

BALCA overturns denial main

BALCA denial

Board of Alien labor certification appeals

BALCA reverses PERM denial based on reasoning in Brooklyn Amity School

BALCA reverses Employment Denial

BALCA reversed the denial, finding that the omission of a Spanish language requirement in the Notice of Filing (NOF) was not by itself fatal to the application where the overall text of the NOF was sufficient to apprise U.S. workers of the job opportunity.

Immigration Detainers and 4th Amendment meet

The Associated Press reports on the recent First Circuit decision in a lawsuit alleging Fourth Amendment violations, finding that federal immigration authorities must have probable cause to issue an immigration detainer. The ruling affirmed last year’s decision by a federal judge in Rhode Island, who denied summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity to an ICE agent and his supervisors who allegedly detained the naturalized U.S. citizen plaintiff in 2009 without probable cause.

A USCIS policy memo provides final guidance on when a petitioner is required to file an amended or new H-1B petition following the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) precedent decision in Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC. The memo includes information on how to become compliant with Simeio, and USCIS states that it will consider filings for changes in the place of employment that occurred on or before the Simeio decision to be timely during a safe harbor period, which runs until January 16, 2015.

H-1B Cap season updates

H-1B approval

H-1B attorney

H-1B speciality worker

Need to Amend your H-1B and don’t know if you should?

A USCIS policy memo provides final guidance on when a petitioner is required to file an amended or new H-1B petition following the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) precedent decision in Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC. The memo includes information on how to become compliant with Simeio, and USCIS states that it will consider filings for changes in the place of employment that occurred on or before the Simeio decision to be timely during a safe harbor period, which runs until January 16, 2015.

3rd Circuit makes it harder to get around aggravated felony bar

The Third Circuit upheld the BIA’s decision and denied the petition for review, finding that an immigrant who is admitted as a lawful permanent resident on a conditional basis (“conditional LPR”) qualifies as “an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence” for purposes of the aggravated felony bar under INA §212(h).