A new decision from the Board of Immigration Appeals makes clear: for many immigrants apprehended near the U.S. border, release on bond is no longer an option. On May 15, 2025, the BIA issued a precedential decision in Matter of Q. Li, 28 I&N Dec. 728 (BIA 2025),...
The BIA doesn't issue that many published decisions, but this week it issued four. They're all important and worth a read. 1. Matter of Ibarra, 26 I&N Dec. 809 (BIA 2016) ID 3872 (PDF) In this decision, written by Board member Roger Pauley (who seems to be...
Last week the BIA issued a new decision outlining the interaction between the immigration statute's requirement that an applicant file within one year of their entry and the issue of applicant credibility. Asylum applications must be filed within one year of a...
Yesterday, the BIA issued a new precedent decision in Matter of D-M-C-P-, addressing two unrelated questions: (1) when an IJ can deem an asylum application "abandoned" for failure to get biometrics timely processed; and (2) whether the BIA or IJ have jurisdiction to...
In the last month, the BIA has published several new decisions that continue to tweak the definition of "admission" and, in the meantime, have seemingly changed the rules related to eligibility for relief for individuals accused of obtaining the residency by fraud....
On July 1, 2014, the BIA issued a new decision in Matter of P-S-H- which discusses fraud in the asylum process and what the government must prove when it wants to revoke an already-granted asylum application. While the BIA's conclusion is not controversial (they hold...
The Board has published a new decision holding that to qualify as a "theft offense" for purposes of determining whether a conviction is an Aggravated Felony, the criminal statute must require an "intent to deprive the owner of rights and benefits of ownership" and...
In a precedent decision on March 27, 2014, the Board has held in Matter of C-J-H- that a person whose status has been adjusted from asylee to lawful permanent resident cannot subsequently readjust status under section 209(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8...
In a new precedential decision, Matter of Chavez Alvarez, the Board considers whether an immigrant who was not formally "admitted" when he first entered but then adjusted his status to become a permanent resident could be found removable under INA 237(a)(2)(A)(iii)....
In two new companion cases (Matter of M-E-V-G- and Matter of W-G-R-) about asylum for individuals afraid of persecution "on account of" their membership in a particular social group, the BIA has done away with the term "social visibility" and replaced it with "social...