By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On April 23, 2025, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Blanche v. Lau, a case that confronts the issue of whether the government, in seeking to remove a lawful permanent resident (LPR) who was paroled into the United States on the basis that he committed a crime […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* Recently, reports have surfaced of issues with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Preclearance in Abu Dhabi – namely, that beneficiaries who had been outside the United States were asked questions about whether the conditions described in the Labor Conditions Application (LCA) had been complied with while they […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In recent weeks, President Trump has dispatched ICE agents to some major airports, purportedly to fill in for TSA workers who are furloughed as a result of the DHS shutdown. Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border czar, has hinted that ICE agents may remain in airports even after […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On February 27, 2026, USCIS published a new edition of Form I-129, which it will accept exclusively beginning April 1, 2026. The new edition of Form I-129 introduces several new fields in the H-1B and H-1B1 Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement. Question 7 through 11 on […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In early 2023, under the Biden administration, USCIS had reversed its longstanding policy of recognizing only the Final Action Dates (FAD) in the State Department Visa bulletin as protecting a child’s age under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), and agreed to use the Dates for Filing (DFF) […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On February 26, 2026, in Matter of Fortjoe, the BIA held that “’admission’ in section 237(a)(1)(H) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(H), refers only to an alien’s lawful entry into the United States after inspection and authorization by an immigration officer. Mr. Fortjoe was a citizen of […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In a previous blog, we addressed the major questions doctrine, an idea articulated by the Supreme Court in West Virginia v. EPA, 142 S. Ct. 2587 (2022). The major questions doctrine holds that “in certain extraordinary cases” where it is unclear whether an agency action was authorized by […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In its June 28, 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court abolished the long-standing Chevron doctrine. Under this doctrine, courts were required to defer to the government agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, stated that “Chevron […]
In June 2023, the Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Helaman Hansen, a case that posed the question whether the federal criminal prohibition on encouraging or inducing unlawful immigration for commercial advantage or private financial gain in violation of INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv) and INA §274(a)(1)(B)(i) is unconstitutionally overbroad. As discussed in our first […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On September 5, 2025, the BIA held in Matter of Yajure Hurtado, 29 I&N Dec. 216 (BIA 2025), that a noncitizen respondent who entered the US without inspection and was placed in removal proceedings is not eligible for bond under INA 235(b)(2)(A) despite allowing bond since the passage […]
