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DHS' Burden to Prove Alienage is by "Clear, Unequivocal and Convincing Evidence"The First Circuit has determined that Homeland Security must prove alienage by "clear, unequivocal, and convincing” evidence, and that this standard is higher than “clear and conv...

Matter of Carlos Manuel BAEZA-GALINDO, 29 I&N Dec. 1 (BIA 2025)The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has narrowed the instances in which two crimes involving moral turpitude will be considered part of the same scheme. The BIA has said that crimes that immedi...

Money Laundering & the Circumstance-Specific ApproachThe Board of Immigration Appeals has determined that for the purpose of assessing whether an offense constitutes a money laundering aggravated felony, the circumstance-specific approach applies to the requir...

Objection to A Defect in the NTAThe Board has held in Matter of Fernandes, 28 I&N Dec. 605, 610–11 (BIA 2022), that an objection to a noncompliant notice to appear will generally be considered timely if raised prior to the close of pleadings. That decision wa...

VTL 511(3)(a) Unlicensed OperationUnlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree in violation of section 511(3)(a)(i) of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, which prohibits a person from driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs while know...

Theft & Intent to Permanently DepriveA theft offense must include a permanent intent to deprive a victim of property which cannot be assumed. The Board of Immigration Appeals has overruled its decision in Matter of Jurado, which assumed that retail theft in Pe...

The Second Circuit has remanded an asylum claim for a Honduran woman who had been the victim of family violence. “The agency reasonably relied in part on Castellanos-Ventura’s failure to report. But it failed to consider whether it would have been ‘futile or...

The Board of Immigration Appeals has determined that Homeland Security can “cure” a defective Notice to Appear (NTA) by moving the Immigration Judge to make written amendments to the NTA by adding the date and time of a future hearing. The full text of Matter...

RELIEF1 AGGRAVATED FELONY DEPORTABLE/ INADMISSIBLE CRIME STOP TIME, GMC and OTHER TIME REQUIREMENTS NATURALIZATION(Affirmative or with Request to Terminate Removal Proceedings) INA § 310, et seq., 8 USC § 1421, et seq. AF is a permanent bar to GMC, and thus to...

Definition of Refugee8 USC 1101(a); INA 101(a)(42) The term "refugee" means(A) any person who is outside any country of such person's nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually res...

A Notice of Appeal from a Decision of the Immigration Judge (Form EOIR-26) must be filed with the Board within 30 calendar days of an Immigration Judge’s oral decision, or the mailing or electronic notification of a written decision. 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38(b) (202...

IJ Must Give Meaningful Notice to the Applicant of Evidence that the IJ Believes to be Significant and Missing Ming Shi Xue v. BIA, 439 F.3d 111, 122 (2d Cir. 2006) Precedent requires that “before denying an asylum petition because of insufficient corroboratio...

Can a police officer order passengers in a vehicle to exit said vehicle during a traffic stop even if they do not have reasonable suspicion of a crime other than the reason for the initial traffic stop. Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408 (1997)No. 95-1268. Argu...

Police Can Command a Person to Exit a Vehicle During a Traffic StopPolice may order you to exit your vehicle during a traffic stop if it is for reasons of officer safety or to further their investigation. You must comply with their command for you to exit the...

REGULATIONS A continuance may be granted for good cause pursuant to 8 C.F.R. §§ 1003.29, 1003.10(b).Two regulations authorize continuances in removal cases: 8 C.F.R. § 1003.29, which permits IJs to continue a hearing for good cause shown, and 8 C.F.R. § 1240.6...

Quick SummaryThe Attorney General overruled Matter of Castro-Tum in Matter of Cruz-Valdez in 2021. Although Matter of Cruz-Valdez did not, in and of itself, establish a new administrative closure scheme, it restored the Board’s earlier decisions in Matter of A...

Motion to TerminateAs the Attorney General has stated, and as provided in the INA and Regulations, “[i]mmigration judges . . . possess the authority to terminate removal proceedings where the charges of removability against a respondent have not been sustained...

PAROLE-IN-PLACE FOR FAMILY MEMBERS OF MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERSDOCUMENTS CHECKLISTThe package submitted to USCIS as an application for Parole-in-Place for the Family Member of a Military Service Member (PIP) should include the following documents:Completed Form...