Immigration – Civil Practice – Mootness – Visa Reinstatement
During the course of this litigation, plaintiffs – whose nonimmigrant visas had been revoked by defendant – received new visas of the same type. Consequently, plaintiffs’ claims are moot. We affirm summary judgment for defendant. Also during the course of this litigation, plaintiffs learned that some of their visas had been automatically revoked while others […]
Immigration – Applicant fails to show likelihood of torture in El Salvador
Where the immigration judge or IJ, found that the threat of torture from MS-13, police and vigilante groups in El Salvador was less than 50%, both separately and in the aggregate, an applicant’s bid for protection under the Convention Against Torture or CAT, was denied. Background Miguel Angel Ibarra Chevez petitions for review of the […]
Immigration – Board erred by imposing ‘living parent’ requirement in statute
Where the attorney general has discretion to waive removal for an alien who is the son of a U.S. citizen, the board erred by concluding that a deceased parent is not a qualifying relative for waiver eligibility. Nothing in the statute contains the living parent requirement. Background Congress allocates a certain number of immigrant visas […]
Immigration – No en banc hearing on Board of Immigration case
Where a majority of the judges voted against rehearing en banc a case involving whether to grant Chevron deference to the Board of Immigration’s recent interpretation of § 1101(a)(43)(S), the motion for rehearing en banc was denied. Background A requested poll of the court failed to produce a majority of judges in regular active service […]
Immigration – BIA erred by not considering murder of asylum applicant’s brother
Where the Honduran native’s first application for asylum was denied as untimely, but he then filed a second application after his brother’s murder, the Board of Immigration Appeals or BIA, erred by refusing to reopen the application. The murder constituted a material change in circumstances. Background Napoleon Garcia Hernandez, a native and citizen of Honduras, […]
Immigration – Asylum applicant fails to show attacks were based on targeted group
Where the record showed that the asylum applicant was not targeted because of her membership in a particular social group but because the assailant attacked anyone who aided his former wife, the asylum claim was denied. Background Veronica Toledo-Vasquez petitions this court to review an order from the Board of Immigration Appeals or BIA, denying […]
Immigration – BIA erred when it interpreted ‘unambiguous’ rule
Where a regulation requires the Department of Homeland Security or DHS, to notify an applicant of the need to provide biometrics, such as photographs and fingerprints; provide the applicant with a biometrics notice and provide instructions for producing biometrics, the Board of Immigration Appeals, or BIA, erred when it interpreted the regulation in a way […]
Immigration – Deferential standard of review rejected
In an issue of first impression, where the government argued that the immigration judge’s decision should be upheld so long as it was based on a “facially legitimate and bona fide reason,” the court joined two circuits in rejecting this argument. That standard was developed in a limited setting of denying visas and does not […]
Immigration – ‘Prosecution witnesses’ is not a particular social group
Where a Honduran man argued that he should not be removed from the United States because his status as a “prosecution witness” would result in threats to his life or freedom in Honduras, the claim failed because that social group was not sufficiently particular. Background Walter Rolando Herrera-Martinez petitions this court for review of the […]
Immigration – Applicant granted remand order not entitled to attorneys’ fees
Where a district court directed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, to adjudicate the plaintiff’s naturalization application within 45 days and retained jurisdiction to hear the case if the agency failed to comply, the plaintiff did not qualify as a prevailing party because the remand order was not a judgment on the merits […]
Immigration – BIA’s interpretation of ambiguous phrase given deference
Where the term “relating to obstruction of justice” is ambiguous about whether an ongoing or a reasonably foreseeable proceeding must be obstructed, the court deferred to the reasonable interpretation of the Board of Immigration Appeals, or BIA. Background Jean Francois Pugin was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact under Virginia law. The […]
Immigration – AG Sessions’ opinion on authority of immigration judges abrogated
Where former U.S. Attorney General Sessions opined that immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals, or BIA, lack authority to administratively close cases, but his opinion was at odds with the plain meaning of the regulations and the government has since disavowed it, Sessions’ opinion is abrogated. Background In August 2016, Javier Chavez Gonzalez […]
Business Law
- Economy forces attorneys to get down to business
- Business Court judges trawl for customers
- Va. company's Web site did not subject business to personal jurisdiction in S.C., appeals panel rules
- Former running back from S.C. wins courtroom victory in contract dispute
- Contract – Government Contract – Qui Tam – False Claims Act
- Tort – Business Tort – Va. Computer Crimes Act – Trade Secrets
- Consumer Protection – FCRA – Auto Loan – Bank Accounting Errors
- Licenses & Permits – Beer & Wine Permit – Restrictive Covenant – Suitable Location
- Licenses & Permits – Veterinarian – Vaccine Maintenance
- State regulators look at car dealer accused of lying to customers
- Textile firm, railroad settle Graniteville train wreck lawsuit
- Subprime mortgage meltdown hits securities law
Commentary
- High court justices cross the line of propriety
- High court’s term was rough on big business
- The flip side of generative AI in law and how to address it
- The fight for equal educational opportunity continues
- Letter From The Editor – Working from Home
- NLRB joins FTC in taking aim at non-competes
- Supreme Court leaves key internet protection untouched
- US Supreme Court bites back at parody’s use of the First Amendment
- My goal: Provide the information that you need now
- Case study: North Carolina courts provide guidance on scope, limitations of attorney-client privilege
- A Different Ode to Pro Bono Work
- N.C. Bar Association embraces homophobia