Law Offices of Brian D. Lerner
Deportation Lawyers & Immigration Attorneys Helping Families Nationwide
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 …
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.
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 …
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.
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 …
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 …
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).
A Transactional Records Access Clearing House (TRAC) report found that the most recent data tracking the processing of “women with children” cases showed that the odds of being deported decreased by more than fourteen-fold when the women and children had legal representation in immigration court. Of the 12,266 such closed cases as of June 2015, …
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of the petition for review, finding that INA §241(a)(5)’s plain language, relevant regulations, and analogous case law compel the conclusion that immigrants whose removal orders are reinstated following illegal re-entry into the United States may not apply for asylum.
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Flores v. Johnson that should signal the end of the mass incarceration of children and mothers seeking asylum in the United States. Judge Gee found that the government materially breached the Flores settlement agreement, which requires that children in temporary custody be housed in safe, sanitary, non-secure, and licensed …
An article in the Washington Post discusses the challenges that the Department of Homeland Security is encountering as it rolls out the new Priority Enforcement Program (PEP)—the replacement for the discontinued Secure Communities program—under which DHS will seek to be notified by law enforcement before an undocumented immigrant is released from custody.
USCIS announced that, starting today, it will resume accepting Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service (with an edition date of January 29, 2015), for all H-1B extension of stay petitions. Premium processing for H-1B extensions had been suspended since May 26, 2015, so that USCIS could implement the final rule providing employment authorization for …
The BIA sustained the respondent’s appeal and remanded, holding that a notice to appear (NTA) that was served but never resulted in removal proceedings does not have “stop-time” effect for purposes of establishing eligibility for cancellation of removal pursuant to section 240A(d)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The Labor Department alerts stakeholders that, effective immediately, permanent and temporary labor certifications will no longer display the electronic signature of the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) Acting Administrator William W. Thompson II. Instead, the electronic signature on approved applications under the permanent and temporary visa programs will be shown as “Certifying Officer.”