Entries by David Isaacson

A QUICK KNOCKOUT: SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO’S LAWSUIT AGAINST PRESIDENT OBAMA’S EXECUTIVE ACTION DISMISSED FOR LACK OF STANDING

By  David A. Isaacson On November 20, 2013, the very same day that President Obama announced a series of executive actions aimed at “Fixing Our Broken Immigration System”, a lawsuit against the newly announced executive actions and against the existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) was filed by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. […]

THE WALKING DEAD: WHY COURTS OF APPEALS SHOULD NOT DEFER TO BIA OR ATTORNEY GENERAL PRECEDENT DECISIONS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN VACATED BY ANOTHER COURT OF APPEALS

In my previous post Burning Down the House: The Second and Third Circuits Split on Whether Arson Not Relating to Interstate Commerce is an Aggravated Felony, I raised the issue of whether the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Luna Torres v. Holder, No. 13-2498 (August 20, 2014), should have deferred as it […]

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE: THE SECOND AND THIRD CIRCUITS SPLIT ON WHETHER ARSON NOT RELATING TO INTERSTATE COMMERCE IS AN AGGRAVATED FELONY

The lyrics of the Talking Heads song “Burning Down the House” do not mention whether the house in question was involved in commerce.  According to Jones v. United States, 529 U.S. 848 (2000), however, arson of “an owner-occupied residence not used for any commercial purpose” does not qualify as a violation of 18 U.S.C. §844(i), […]

USCIS LIBERALIZES CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING HABITUAL RESIDENCE IN SOME HAGUE CONVENTION ADOPTION CASES: A SMALL STEP, BUT AN IMPORTANT ONE

By David A. Isaacson  Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), there are three ways that adopted children can qualify as the children of a U.S. citizen parent for purposes of acquiring lawful permanent resident status, and generally derivative U.S. citizen status, through that adoptive parent.  Section 101(b)(1)(E) of the INA, perhaps the most familiar, […]

Waiving Goodbye to Unappealable Decisions: Indirect AAO Jurisdiction, or Why Having Your Appeal Dismissed Can Sometimes be a Good Thing

The USCIS Administrative Appeals Office, or AAO, has administrative appellate jurisdiction over a wide variety of USCIS decisions that are not appealable to the Board of Immigration Appeals.  This jurisdiction is primarily set forth in a regulatory list that has been absent from the Code of Federal Regulations since 2003, but was incorporated by reference […]

THE SECOND CIRCUIT AMENDS SHABAJ v. HOLDER: WHAT HAPPENED TO FOOTNOTE 4? HAS THE POTENTIAL AVAILABILITY OF JUDICIAL REVIEW OF USCIS DECISIONS BEEN ALTERED?

By David A. Isaacson On April 25, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit released an amended opinion in Shabaj v. Holder, docket number 12-703.  The prior opinion in Shabaj was the subject of a previous post on this blog.  To summarize, Shabaj held that a claimed error by the USCIS Administrative Appeals […]

Some Preliminary Observations Regarding the Proposed “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act”

As most readers of this blog are likely aware, earlier this week the U.S. Senate’s “Gang of 8” – that is, Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), John McCain (R-AZ), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) – introduced a proposed comprehensive immigration reform bill. […]