Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Interesting (in a bad way) 10th Circuit case

The 10th Circuit just published a case which can be found at Purba v. Holder where it held a removal order is final despite the fact that the BIA remanded to the IJ regarding voluntary departure.  Petitioner waited for the final ruling by IJ before filing the Petition for Review.  The Circuit said it had no jurisdiction.  What would happen if the BIA denied an adjustment and remanded to the IJ for consideration of a CAT application that had not previously been reached?  Should respondent wait until the end, or file with the Circuit despite the ongoing litigation?   

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Shutdown over, EOIR and DOL still recovering

As we all know, the government shutdown ended two weeks ago, and the debt crisis was averted.  The immigration courts across the country are still recovering.  http://www.justice.gov/eoir/press/2013/FundingLapseFilingChanges10252013.htm

I know that locally, the Boston Court is still in the process of rescheduling everyone who missed a hearing, filing all the submissions that came in during the shutdown, and scheduling hearings for the all the new Notices to Appear that were filed.  

Users of DOL's iCERT and PERM portals are reporting difficulties getting on the system.  In addition, some LCA's filed before the shutdown have not yet been certified. 

 

Monday, October 7, 2013

Government Shutdown and Immigration

We are about a week into the shutdown, and its certainly having an effect on certain aspects of our practice.  Up until now, USCIS has not been significantly affected due to the fact that they are primarily funded by the fees that they collect.  Interviews have been proceeding as scheduled and the local Information Room is open.  This is the good news.  EOIR - the Executive Office for Immigration Review -- which is the division of the Department of Justice which contains the Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) -- has severely curtailed its activities.  The Boston Immigration Court has only been opened for detained matters.  All other cases will be continued.  The BIA is also working on detained matters.  Backlogs have already been enormous, and they will only increase.




Thursday, October 3, 2013

Victory in First Circuit for Kerry Doyle of Graves & Doyle

My law partner, Kerry Doyle, had a recent victory in the First Circuit in a very complicated case on Motions to Reopen.  In Boleiro v Holder, linked here, the First Circuit joined nine other circuits in finding that the post departure bar conflicts with the statute, and concluded that individuals who have departed the United States are not precluded from filing a motion to reopen in their removal proceedings.   This is a terrific victory.