South Carolina Lawyers Weekly
A temporary ex parte custody order did not qualify as a state court custody order sufficient to meet the requirements necessary for plaintiff to obtain special immigrant juvenile status. Background Under 8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(27)(J), immigrant children may become lawful permanent ...
Read More »Immigration – Temporary ex parte order does not satisfy SIJ requirements
Immigration – Removal statute had run on man convicted of crime 
A man convicted of felony abduction in 2012 won vacation of a removal order based on the court’s finding that he was admitted to the United States in 2002, and the felony removal statute requires the crime be committed within ...
Read More »Immigration – Gang recruitment efforts insufficient for asylum
Although the petitioner asserted a gang was threatening him if he returned to El Salvador, evidence supported the immigration judge’s conclusion that the gang’s recruitment efforts were aimed at providing “more opportunities to increase membership,” rather than at persecuting him ...
Read More »Immigration – Petitioner get presumption of ‘fear of future persecution’
The Board of Immigration Appeals erred by finding that petitioner from Benin had not established past persecution, despite credible testimony of death threats due to his bisexuality and homosexual relationship. In remanding, the court noted the petitioner is entitled to ...
Read More »Immigration – U-Visa Status – Waiting List – Administrative – Constitutional – Due Process
Plaintiffs’ application for a U-Visa (a nonimmigrant visa for victims of crimes committed in the U.S.) has been pending for more than three years, and plaintiffs sought adjudication of their application within a reasonable time; therefore, plaintiffs have stated a ...
Tagged with: Waiting List
Read More »Immigration – Court costs not a “penalty” that supports removal
An immigrant was not ineligible for cancellation of removal based solely on $100 in court costs that he paid after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor. Such costs, which are not discretionary and sometimes are imposed by the court clerk, are ...
Tagged with: penalty
Read More »Immigration – Law covering “de minimis” theft no grounds for removal
Because not all of the offenses encompassed under Maryland’s theft statute qualify as crimes involving moral turpitude, the Board of Immigration Appeals erred in concluding that the petitioner committed such crimes and was thus ineligible for cancellation of removal. Background ...
Tagged with: de minimis
Read More »Immigration – USCIS could disregard custody order lacking factual basis
It was not arbitrary or capricious for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to reject special immigrant juvenile status for Salvadoran girl on the basis of a state court order that lacked a factual basis for permanent custody with her father ...
Tagged with: USCIS
Read More »Immigration – State drug convictions defeated court’s jurisdiction
An immigrant’s conviction for unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell constitutes a conviction of both an aggravated felony and a crime involving moral turpitude. Therefore, the court lacks jurisdiction to review the Board’s rulings on ...
Tagged with: convictions
Read More »Immigration – Renewed removal order bars asylum
A Salvadoran man in the U.S. illegally was ineligible for asylum, based on the reinstatement of a removal order resulting from his previous illegal entry. The reinstated order barred his application even if the supporting circumstances had not yet occurred ...
Tagged with: Asylum
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