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 […]
USCIS seems to be obsessed about heightening the good moral character standard for citizenship for the purpose of delay. On August 19, 2025 USCIS announced that it would evaluate good moral character in the naturalization context to encompass a “holistic assessment of an alien’s behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions that affirmatively demonstrate […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In early 2023, USCIS 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) to protect the age of […]
In recent weeks, the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts have increasingly turned towards U.S. citizens. Indeed President Trump has been insinuating that his administration would look into taking away the citizenship of a number of high profile people. A June 11, 2025 memorandum entitled Civil Division Enforcement Priorities and authored by Assistant Attorney General Brett […]
On July 4, 2025, Congress passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”. Among its many other provisions, the megabill imposes a number of immigration-related changes. Pursuant to the Act, asylum applications, which historically have been able to be filed at no cost, will now be subject to a $100 filing fee. An additional $100 annual […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* The Trump administration is doing its best to kill executive actions that benefit vulnerable noncitizens. In a June 6, 2025 Policy Alert, the administration announced that it would rescind automatic consideration of deferred action for noncitizens classed as Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJ) who are unable to able for […]
