USCIS announced that it has received enough petitions to reach the numerical limit of 12,998 workers who may be issued CNMI-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) visas or otherwise provided with CW-1 status for FY2017. The final receipt date for CW-1 worker petitions requesting an employment start date before October 1, 2017, was October 14, 2016. https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/cw-1/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/american-workers/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/immigration-workers/ …

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The Eighth Circuit held that the district court did not err in relying on the petitioner’s certified naturalization application, his sworn statements, and corroborating letters, when it denied his naturalization petition on the grounds that he had violated the terms of his religious worker visa by accepting employment before receiving authorization to do so. https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/unauthorized-employment/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/employment/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/employment-authorization/ …

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In a question of first impression for the federal courts, the Ninth Circuit denied the petition for review, holding that a noncitizen who is issued an expedited removal order at a U.S. border-crossing checkpoint has entered the United States for purposes of reinstatement of removal under INA §241(a)(5). The court noted that its decision is limited to …

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DHS extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Nepal (and those without nationality who last habitually resided in Nepal) for an additional 18 months, effectiveDecember 25, 2016, through June 24, 2018. The 60-day re-registration period runs throughDecember 27, 2016. This extension also allows TPS re-registrants to apply for a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD) with …

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the U.S. Supreme Court denied without comment the DOJ’s request to rehear United States v. Texas once a ninth Supreme Court justice is confirmed. https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/immigrationattorney/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/immigrationlawyer/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/best-immigration-lawyer/ https://californiaimmigration.us/our-immigration-law-firm/

BALCA upheld the Certifying Officer’s denial, holding that advertisements posted at a college preparatory school constituted in-house advertisement and not on-campus recruitment at a college or university, and thus did not satisfy the professional pre-filing recruitment requirements of 20 CFR §656.17(e)(1)(ii)(A)–(J). https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/balca/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/balca-denial/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/balca-remanded-the-case-for-certification/ https://californiaimmigration.us/balca-affirms-lc-denial-due-to-notice-of-filing-deficiency/

University professors who have clinical duties may be eligible for permanent residence through a PERM labor certification application based on special handling with limited special recruitment; a hybrid PERM using basic recruitment; or a Schedule A, Group II, application. https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/perm-2/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/perm-labor-certification/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/lawful-permanent-residence/ https://californiaimmigration.us/our-immigration-law-firm/

The Associated Press reports that a 31-year-old U.S. citizen who was born in an Indonesian refugee camp filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday to challenge a newly amended Louisiana law that blocked him from obtaining a marriage license because he couldn’t produce a birth certificate. The law requires any foreign-born person wanting to get married in Louisiana …

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After referring Matter of Chairez and Matter of Sama to herself for review of an issue relating to Descamps v. United States, and after inviting amicus briefs addressing the proper approach for determining “divisibility” within the meaning of Descamps, the Attorney General (AG) lifted the stay and remanded the two cases to the BIA for any appropriate action in light of the U.S. …

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In a precedent decision issued today, the BIA held that IJs lack the authority to adjudicate a request for a waiver of inadmissibility under INA §212(d)(3)(A)(ii) by a petitioner for U nonimmigrant status. The BIA also concluded that the Seventh Circuit’s decision in L.D.G. v. Holder did not expressly find the language of §212(d)(3)(A) to be unambiguous, which would …

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The Fourth Circuit held that the BIA erred in concluding that the petitioner was an aggravated felon who was ineligible for cancellation of removal under INA §240A(a)(3), finding that a conviction for receipt of embezzled property under 18 USC §659 is not an aggravated felony under the categorical approach https://californiaimmigration.us/california-penal-code-regarding-unlawful-sexual-intercourse-with-a-minor-compares-the-similar-charges-of-aggravated-felony/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/aggrvated-felony/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/aggravated-felony/ https://cbocalbos.wordpress.com/tag/felony/

On rehearing, the First Circuit vacated the BIA’s decision and remanded, holding that under Moncrieffe v. Holder the petitioner’s 2006 Maine conviction for assault was not a “crime of violence,” and thus, the petitioner was eligible to seek cancellation of removal. https://atomic-temporary-10880024.wpcomstaging.com/tag/assault/ https://atomic-temporary-10880024.wpcomstaging.com/tag/conviction-for-assault-with-a-deadly-weapon/ https://atomic-temporary-10880024.wpcomstaging.com/tag/moncrieffe/ https://californiaimmigration.us/waivers/criminal-waiver-of-inadmissibility-prepared-by-immigration-lawyer/

In a non precedent decision, the AAO held that the petitioner, a judo athlete transitioning his career from competing to coaching, met the burden of proof necessary to establish his eligibility as an individual “of extraordinary ability” in athletics pursuant to INA §203(b)(1)(A). https://atomic-temporary-10880024.wpcomstaging.com/tag/aao/ https://atomic-temporary-10880024.wpcomstaging.com/tag/administrative-appeals-office-aao/ https://atomic-temporary-10880024.wpcomstaging.com/tag/office-of-administrative-appeals-aao/ https://californiaimmigration.us/aao-finds-profession-of-%e2%80%9ccomputer-software-engineer%e2%80%9d-does-not-require-specified-field-of-study-for-bachelor%e2%80%99s-degree/

The Ninth Circuit granted the petition for review of the BIA decision, finding the petitioner ineligible for cancellation of removal or voluntary departure because he lacked good moral character as a “habitual drunkard.” The court remanded, holding that the petitioner could bring an equal protection challenge because there is no rational basis to classify persons afflicted by …

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The First Circuit concluded that the BIA abused its discretion when it found that the circumstances attendant to the entry of an in absentia removal order against a young undocumented immigrant who was ill-served by two attorneys were not exceptional. Accordingly, the court remanded to the BIA with instructions to set aside the in absentia removal order …

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