Standards of Review Applied by the Board of Immigration
The Board of Immigration Appeals overturned Immigration Judges ruling that Petty Offense Exception does not apply.
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is the highest administrative body for interpreting and applying immigration laws. Authorized 23 Appellate Immigration Judges, including a Chief Appellate Immigration Judge and one or two Deputy Chief Appellate Immigration Judges. The BIA is located at EOIR headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia. Generally, the BIA does not conduct courtroom proceedings – it decides appeals by conducting a “paper review” of cases. On rare occasions, however, the BIA hears oral arguments of appealed cases, predominately at headquarters.The BIA has been given nationwide jurisdiction to hear appeals from certain decisions rendered by Immigration Judges and by district directors of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a wide variety of proceedings in which the Government of the United States is one party and the other party is an alien, a citizen, or a business firm.
BIA decisions are binding on all DHS officers and Immigration Judges unless modified or overruled by the Attorney General or a federal court. Most BIA decisions are subject to judicial review in the federal courts. The majority of appeals reaching the BIA involve orders of removal and applications for relief from removal. Other cases before the BIA include the exclusion of aliens applying for admission to the United States, petitions to classify the status of alien relatives for the issuance of preference immigrant visas, fines imposed upon carriers for the violation of immigration laws, and motions for reopening and reconsideration of decisions previously rendered.
