In Matter of J-S- the Board of Immigration Appeals held that a spouse of a person subjected to coercive population control is not per se entitled to refugee status, however, such a spouse may still qualify as a refugee if he can show “a well-founded fear of persecution of being forced to undergo such a procedure, or on account of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution for failure or refusal to undergo such a procedure or for other resistance to a coercive population control program, or on other grounds enumerated in the Immigration and Nationality Act.”
In Matter of Velazquez-Herrera, the Board of Immigration appeals ruled that “These authorities, viewed through the prism of the enforcement-orientedpurpose of section 237(a)(2)(E)(i), lead us to interpret the term “crime of child abuse” broadly to mean any offense involving an intentional, knowing, reckless, or criminally negligent act or omission that constitutes maltreatment of a child or that impairs a child’s physical or mental well-being, including sexual abuse or exploitation.”
In Matter of V-K, the Board of Immigration Appeals held that “The Board of Immigration Appeals reviews de novo an Immigration Judge’s prediction orfinding regarding the likelihood that an alien will be tortured, because it relates to whetherthe ultimate statutory requirement for establishing eligibility for relief from removal has beenmet and is therefore a mixed question of law and fact, or a question of judgment.”
In Matter of A-S-B, decided May 8, 2008, the Board of Immigration Appeals held that “(1) Under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(d)(3) (2008), the Board of Immigration Appeals should defer to the factual findings of an Immigration Judge, unless they are clearly erroneous, but it retains independent judgment and discretion, subject to applicable governing standards, regarding pure questions of law and the application of a particular standard of law to those facts [and] (2) In determining whether established facts are sufficient to meet a legal standard, such as “well-founded fear,” the Board has the authority to weigh the evidence in a manner different from that accorded by the Immigration Judge, or to conclude that the foundation for the Immigration Judge’s legal conclusions was insufficient or otherwise not supported by the evidence of record.”
In Nijhawan v. United States the Third Cicuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a fraud offense is an aggravated felony, under the category of “fraud or deceit in which the loss to the victims exceeded $10,000,” even if the dollar amount of loss was not an element of the charge.
An extremely useful portion of the USCIS’s web site is its USCIS Administrative Decisions section, which contains the analyses applied by the USCIS to a broad variety of issues, such as the eligibility criteria for work-authorized visas, the standards applied to adjustment of status applications, and the rules for granting or denying waivers of inadmissibility.
The USCIS has issued a new memorandum replacing its previous policy memoranda for the Child Status Protection Act. As further explained therein, “This guidance significantly modifies a prior interpretation of certain provisions of the CSPA.”
The Department of State is implementing a new “Form DS-160” for nonimmigrant visas. According to the DOS, “The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA 1998) requires that, when possible, Federal agencies use electronic forms, electronic filing, and electronic signatures to conduct agency business with the public. For this reason, the Department of State developed and introduced an electronic application process for nonimmigrant visas to eventually replace the current application process, which depends on a paper form (Form DS 156, and other forms when required, such as the Form DS-157 and Form DS-158). The first step was to offer an electronic visa application form (EVAF) as a voluntary alternative way of obtaining and preparing the Form DS-156. While the nonimmigrant visa applicant could obtain and prepare the Form DS-156 electronically, he or she was required to sign the Form DS-156 manually. On October 1, 2006, the EVAF was made mandatory worldwide wherever possible. Now, while the Department will continue to accept the EVAF (electronic Form DS-156) where necessary, it proposes to eventually eliminate the Form DS-156 entirely and replace it with the Form DS-160, an electronic form designed to be completed and signed electronically.”
In 2008, Congress has passed Pub. L. 110-181 ((the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008), Pub. L. 110-180 (the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007), and Pub. L. 110-161 (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008), all of which amend the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The USCIS has created a new I-765 Form which will become the only accepted form for applications for employment authorization effective July 8, 2008.
