Law Offices of Brian D. Lerner
Deportation Lawyers & Immigration Attorneys Helping Families Nationwide
In a case of first impression, the Ninth Circuit held ineffective assistance certifications are committed to agency discretion by the plain language of 8 CFR §1003.1(c), which contains no standard or meaningful guidance sufficient for judicial review.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report that found the total number of children separated from a parent or guardian by immigration authorities is unknown. Pursuant to a June 2018 district court order, HHS has thus far identified 2,737 children in the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s (ORR) care who …
NBC reports it obtained a draft plan that shows officials wanted to specifically target parents in migrant families for increased prosecutions, contradicting previous statements from the administration claiming it had no policy of separating families but was simply enforcing the law. The copy of the draft plan obtained by NBC also includes comments showing that officials considered speeding up migrant children’s …
Changes are: Ethiopia and the Philippines were removed from the H-2A and H-2B eligibility lists. The Dominican Republic was removed from the H-2B eligibility list. Mozambique and Samoa were added to the H-2A and H-2B eligibility lists. Paraguay was added to the H-2A eligibility list.
DHS published notice in the Federal Register of the 84 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H‑2A program and the 81 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H‑2B program for the coming year. The designations in the notice are effective from January 19, 2019, and shall be without effect after …
he Sixth Circuit determined the BIA erred in finding new evidence was previously available and that the BIA failed to consider hardship ground raised in the Motion to Reopen, instead offering a cursory analysis that didn’t allow for meaningful review. The court remanded the case to properly apply the law. The court also addressed petitioner’s argument …
DHS released information about the Migrant Protection Protocols it has begun implementing at the U.S.-Mexico border, whereby certain foreign nationals entering from Mexico may be returned to wait outside the United States for the duration of their immigration proceedings
USCIS announced that it will resume premium processing on Monday, January 28, 2019, for all FY2019 H‑1B cap petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption (the “master’s cap”). The previously announced temporary suspension of premium processing remains in effect for all other categories of H‑1B petitions to which it applied.
The Second Circuit found the BIA erred in applying the clear-error standard of review, instead of de novo, to the immigration judge’s denial of the petitioner’s application for a good-faith marriage waiver. The court also held the petitioner abandoned his abuse of discretion claim on the Motion to Reopen denial because he failed to adequately argue …
Court Upholds BIA Reversal of IJ Grant of CAT Deferral to Domestic Violence Victim The First Circuit denied the petition for review and held the BIA correctly found the petitioner was unable to prove that the Dominican government acquiesced in her domestic abuse. Thus, the petitioner failed to meet the CAT definition of “torture” mandated for …
DOL posted an update on H‑2B processing, including information on how date and time stamps were assigned and why some users continued to see an outage banner after the iCERT system was restored on January 7, 2019.
USCIS announced the transfer of certain Forms I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, from the Vermont Service Center to the Texas Service Center.
USCIS announced that, effective immediately, the categorical Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) parole programs are terminated. The notice states that after any parole authorized through these programs expires, USCIS will not renew that parole. Current parolees who have requested an extension of parole from USCIS will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and …
The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) reminds employers and other interested stakeholders that H-2B Applications for Temporary Employment Certification, Form ETA-9142B, with April 1, 2019, start dates may be filed no earlier than January 1, 2019 at 12:00:00.000 a.m. Eastern Time
USCIS published a proposed rule earlier this month that would require petitioners planning to file H‑1B cap-subject petitions to register electronically ahead of the annual H-1B lottery