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The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a decision in Matter of Pinzon Rozo , 29 I&N Dec. 507 (BIA 2026) holding that it was error for the immigration judge to grant a continuance where the respondent had an approved SIJ petition but a non-current priority date. The Board wrote: In this case, the uncertain and potentially lengthy period of time until a visa would become available to the respondent, along with DHS’ opposition to the respondent’s motion for a cont

On March 8, 2026, United States District Judge Randolph D. Moss declared invalid and set aside "substantive portions of the IFR, 91 Fed. Reg. 5267 (Feb. 6, 2026)." Significantly, the Court ordered that some of the dramatic changes to the Board's handling of appeals be stopped. The IFR provisions declared invalid and set aside include: The reduction of time to file most appeals from 30 days to 10 days The presumption of summary dismissal unless a majority of BIA members vot

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a decision ( Matter of Forjoe , 29 I&N Dec. 463 (BIA 2026) today deciding that the waiver under INA § 237(a)(1)(H) cannot be used to waive fraud and misrepresentations occurring at "the time of adjustment of status." In other words, "at the time of admission," according to the BIA, relates to "an alien's lawful entry into the United States after inspection and authorization by an immigration officer." The decision overrules Mat

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on February 20, 2026, that it is proposing a new rule to "reduce the incentive for aliens to file fraudulent asylum claims so they can obtain work authorizations." If the new rule comes into effect (and is not paused as a result of expected legal challenges), then DHS "would pause the acceptance of initial (c)(8) EAD applications when the average processing time for affirmative asylum applications over a consecutive p

In Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi , No. 25-20496 (5th Cir. Feb. 6, 2026), a panel ( Jones , Duncan , and in dissent Douglas ) of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that aliens who entered the United States without inspection (EWI entrants) are not eligible for bond. The ruling is in agreement with the Board of Immigration Appeal's (BIA) decision in Matter of Yajure Hurtado , 29 I&N Dec. 216 (BIA 2025). Under the Trump Administration's assertions, anyone who has entered the

A quick review of the recent BIA case, Matter of Jin , 29 I&N Dec. 441 (BIA 2026), shows a somewhat new front in immigration law: immigration lawyers for U.S. citizens. Matter of Jin is a case about a U.S. citizen petitioner wanting to actively have an approved Form I-130 , Petition for Alien Relative, denied after it had been approved. Why, you might ask. Well, an immigrant can obtain benefits they might not otherwise obtain by becoming a permanent resident through an appro

USCIS, EOIR, or other agencies may want or need to see your federal tax information as part of the application or petition process. Many people think this means copies of your tax returns. Unless your tax return has been stamped as submitted, your copies of the prepared tax return do not show that the return has been filed and accepted. Better to obtain your tax return transcript . You can obtain it online by first setting up an account with the IRS. Besides demonstrating t

There is a plethora of articles on lawyers, judges, and pro se litigants using artificial intelligence to draft legal documents that are consequently filed in court or issued by the court. You might read that something "never should have been docketed" and that "a mistake" was made. One pro se litigant was fined $10,000 for using fake citations in a document submitted to court. And, a district attorney was sanctioned on account of using AI and coming up with made up citati

The body that runs the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), has posted an interim final rule (IFR) for comment. You may contact the agency directly for more information: Jamee E. Comans , Acting Assistant Director, Office of Policy, Executive Office for Immigration Review, 5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2500, Falls Church, VA 22041; telephone (703) 305-0289. Make sure to leave a public comment and tell

The Trump Administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti had been stayed pending judicial review. The case is Lesly Miot v. Trump , Case No. 1:25-cv-02471 (D.D.C. filed July 30, 2025). Here's a taste of Judge Ana C. Reyes' decision: There is an old adage among lawyers. If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither, pound the table. Secretary Noem, the record to-date s

A new trend is emerging of the Department of State cancelling passports while the American citizen using their passport is outside of the United States. Such cancellation, with no notice provided, can lead to numerous problems if you happen to be outside of the United States and with no other passport or right to be in whatever country you are in. For instance, you could be arrested and deported for not having a proper travel document depending on According to an article , a

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pedestrians must generally walk on a sidewalk where one is available. If there is no sidewalk, then a "pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall walk only on a shoulder as far practicable from the edge of the roadway." If there is no sidewalk and no shoulder, then "any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall walk as near as practicable to an outside edge of the roadway and, if on a two-way roadway, shall walk only on the

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states the following: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. However, the leaked ICE Memo (dated May 12, 2025, from Acting ICE Director To

If you're looking to locate an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, then you can use the office locator on the ICE website here . Yet, that link does not seem to bring up all ICE locations. For instance, the ICE office in Mt. Laurel does not show up using that link, but the office location does show up elsewhere on the ICE website here . And, here is a map of ERO offices (as of 2023) across the USA. ICE is made up of three components that interact with the publi

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has announced a "pausing" for all visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries effective January 21, 2026. The list of countries is: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The G

There's an informative video about Palantir put out by GamersNexus. The video discusses how Palantir has contracted with various government agencies, including ICE, to develop "ImmigrationOS." Of particular note is the platform's asserted capability of tracking with "near real-time visibility...instances of self-deportation." And, the story tracks with what the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) writes about ICE going on a surveillance spending spree . EFF recommends that

Today, the United States Senate held a hearing to propose that the House of Representatives advance articles of impeachment against federal judges such as Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg and U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman. Interestingly, Boasberg was the chief judge of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2025. The current chief judge of the Court is U.S. District Judge Joan N. Ericksen. As of writing, the Alien Terrorist Remo

USCIS announced some alleged changes to the VAWA program on December 22, 2025. The Agency noted that there have been "alarming and unprecedented" changes to the program including a 360% increase in petitions and 259% increase in male petitioners. In summary, USCIS will now more strictly interpret the statutory and regulatory provisions governing VAWA petitions. So-called "[p]olicy [h]ighlights" of the updated policy include: Codifies long-standing practices and gives a more d

A recent story's headline asserts that there is a "skyrocketing number of 'no shows'" at immigration court hearings. The story says that "[m]ore immigrants are not showing up for their mandatory immigration court hearings, allowing the government to order their immediate deportation." Not appearing at your immigration court hearing normally results in the immigration judge issuing an in absentia order of removal. However, this is not always the outcome of one missed hearing

The Trump Administration has suspended the diversity visa program . The Secretary of DHS stated that: " At President Trump's direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program." The DV program was launched about 35 years ago and offers approximately 50,000 visas per year to aliens from countries with comparatively low rates of immigration to the United States. Recipients are chosen at rando