March 07, 2011
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) stated in Matter of Eslamizar, 23 I&N Dec. 684 (BIA 2004) “It is a bedrock principle of the Constitution of the United States that each element of an offense or crime must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. E.g., Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000); In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358 (1970). It is beyond debate, therefore, that […]
March 02, 2011
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) in Matter of GUEVARA ALFARO, 25 I&N Dec. 417 (BIA 2011) held: (1) Any intentional sexual conduct by an adult with a child involves moral turpitude, as long as the perpetrator knew or should have known that the victim was under the age of 16. Matter of Silva-Trevino, 24 I&N Dec. 687 (A.G. 2008), followed. Quintero-Salazar […]
February 28, 2011
It sounds like a mouthful. One of the divisions of the U.S. Government that represents the U.S. Department of Homeland Security before the Federal Courts (mainly the various Courts of Appeal) is the Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL). Periodically, OIL publishes their Immigration Litigation Bulletin which was previously unavailable to the public until the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was […]
February 24, 2011
The Board of Immigration Appeals held in Matter of Nelson 25 I&N Dec. 410 (BIA 2011): “Once an alien has been convicted of an offense that stops the accrual of the 7-year period of continuous residence required for cancellation of removal under section 240A(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a) (2006), section 240A(d)(1) of the Act does […]
February 21, 2011
Headnote: “In general, an alien’s conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude triggers removability under section 237(a)(2)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(i) (2006), only if the alien committed the crime within 5 years after the date of the admission by virtue of which he or she was then present in the United States. Matter of Shanu, […]
February 04, 2011
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals analyzed whether a VA Code 18.2-251 dismissal qualifies as a conviction for Immigration purposes per INA 101(a)(48)(A) even though it was a deferred adjudication. In Crespo v. Holder, the respondent did not plead guilty, and even though the judge found facts justifying a finding of guilty. The court felt that Congress in writing the Immigration laws […]
January 24, 2011
USCIS released a memo entitled “Temporary Protected Status Adjudications Involving “No Jail” or “No Incarceration” Certifications, and Reminder for Cases Involving Certain Potential Misdemeanors” USCIS clarified that not all crimes are automatically misdemeanors, especially if offense does not carry any jail or incarceration. This may be positive news for many how are convicted of small offenses. Consult with an experienced […]
January 07, 2011
Video Blog from Ricky Malik, Attorney at Law:
December 20, 2010
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December 01, 2010
The Administrative Appeals Office published a postive case that addressed burden of proof. Hopefully, USCIS adjudicators will use this case as their guide when deciding cases. In Matter of Chawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369 (AAO 2010) it was held that: “In most administrative immigration proceedings, the applicant must prove by a preponderance of evidence that he or she is eligible for the […]
