Tag Archive for: Ninth Circuit

Cyrus Mehta

Amin v. Mayorkas: Fifth Circuit Denies EB-1 Extraordinary Ability Petition Even Though Petitioner Met Three Out of Ten Regulatory Criteria

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By Cyrus D. Mehta and Jessica Paszko*

Establishing extraordinary ability under the employment-based first preference (EB-1) visa category is neither an easy nor straightforward feat. In 2010, Kazarian v. USCIS, 596 F.3d 1115 (9th Cir. 2010), which we wrote a blog about, muddied the waters when it tacked onto the EB-1 determination, a vague, second step analysis known as the “final merits determination” as part of the USCIS Policy Manual.  While the Fifth Circuit’s recent Amin v. DHS, No. 21-20212 (5th Cir. 2022), decision has provided further guidance, it has also grounded the final merits determination even deeper into the EB-1 framework.

As background, an individual can obtain permanent residence in the U.S. under EB-1 by establishing extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics which has been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim and whose achievements have been recognized in the field through extensive documentation. See INA § 203(b)(1)(A)(i). Furthermore, the individual seeks entry to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability and his or her entry will substantially benefit prospectively the U.S. See INA § 203(b)(1)(A)(ii) & (iii). Unlike most other petitions, no job offer is required and one can even self-petition for permanent residency. Evidence to demonstrate “sustained national or international acclaim” could be a one-time achievement such as a major international award (for example, a Nobel Prize, Oscar or Olympic Gold Medal). If the applicant is not the recipient of such an award, then documentation of any three of the following is sufficient:

  • Receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards.
  • Membership in an association in the field for which classification is sought, which requires outstanding achievement of its members, as judged by recognized national or international experts.
  • Published material about the person in professional or major trade publications or other major media.
  • Participation as a judge of the work of others.
  • Evidence of original scientific, scholastic, artistic, athletic or business-related contributions of major significance.
  • Authorship of scholarly articles in the field, in professional or major trade publications or other media.
  • Artistic exhibitions or showcases.
  • Performance in a leading or cultural role for organizations or establishments that have a distinguished reputation.
  • High salary or remuneration in relation to others in the field.
  • Commercial success in the performing arts.

See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x). An applicant may also submit comparable evidence if the above standards do not readily apply.

Initially, applicants must submit the required “initial evidence” demonstrating that they meet at least three out of the ten criteria. However, successfully demonstrating that three criteria have been met is not commensurate with an EB-1 approval. It is only the first hurdle in establishing extraordinary ability. The USCIS subsequently conducts the final merits determination “to determine whether, as a whole, the evidence is sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant meets the required high level of expertise.” The Fifth Circuit provides a helpful analogy, even if depressing, to illustrate this two-step process­­­­­­––the first step is akin to the hopeful college applicant submitting all requisite application materials to a dream university, and the second step is where the applicant receives a rejection letter despite complying with all of the university’s admission criteria.

Before the Fifth Circuit, was the case of Bhaveshkumar Amin, a project manager in the field of chemical engineering who has worked for oil companies, and contributed to novel inventions, including a portable sulfur-forming unit, modularized well pads, and a high-efficiency drill rig. It was undisputed that Amin satisfied three criteria: judging the work of others, holding a leading role in industry organizations, and earning a high salary relative to peers. But that was not so initially. The USCIS, when first denying the petition, only agreed that he met the fourth criterion relating to judging the work of others. Amin bypassed the Appeals Administrative Office (AAO) and directly sought review of the denial in federal district court under the Administrative Procedures Act that allows challenges of final agency decisions that are arbitrary and capricious. After filing the lawsuit, USCIS agreed to reconsider the denial and determined that Amin had met three out of the ten criteria but still issued a denial because Amin did not meet the final merits determination. Amin continued with his lawsuit but the district court found that the USCIS’s reasoning behind the denial was insufficient to render it arbitrary and capricious.

Amin appealed to the Fifth Circuit. As a preliminary matter, the Fifth Circuit agreed that Amin could bypass the AAO and directly seek review in federal court under Darby v. Cisneros, 509 U.S. 137, 146-47 (1993). In Darby v. Cisneros, the Supreme Court held that when the statute or regulation does not require administrative appeal then the agency’s decision constitutes a final agency action. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(n)(2) does not require administrative appeal, and thus Amin’s failure to appeal to the AAO did not deprive the court of jurisdiction under the APA. As an aside, it is good news that the Fifth Circuit did not invoke the jurisdiction stripping provision for discretionary determinations, INA 242(a)(2)(B), to deprive Amin of jurisdiction because of the discretionary nature of the final merits determination as the Ninth Circuit did in Poursina v. USCIS with a challenge to a denial of a national interest waiver denial under INA § 203(b)(2)(1)(A). Unlike INA § 203(b)(2)(1)(A) where discretion is clearly embedded, INA § 203(b)(1)(A) does not so explicitly state that the granting of EB-1 is discretionary.

The Fifth Circuit also disposed of Amin’s challenge to the USCIS Policy Manual that it was not consistent with the regulation and that it was issued without notice and comment. The Fifth Circuit held that the Policy Manual’s guidance regarding conducting a final merits determination was consistent with the regulation as the regulation did not presumptively state that meeting the three criteria guaranteed an extraordinary ability finding. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3) referred to “initial evidence” and also stated that applicants must submit evidence of “at least three” criteria. Furthermore, the USCIS Policy Manual was an interpretive rather than a legislative rule, according to the Fifth Circuit, and so it could be issued without notice and comment. It is unfortunate that the Fifth Circuit gave short shrift to Buletini v. INS, 860 F. Supp. 1222 (E.D. Mich. 1994). In Buletini, the court held that once an applicant met three out of the ten criteria, the regulation shifts the burden to the government to explain why the applicant has not demonstrated extraordinary ability. The USCIS Policy Manual, seizing on the Ninth Circuit’s “final merits determination” in Kazarian, shifted this burden onto the applicant in elaborating a highly subjective second step analysis. Kazarian’s curse has gone beyond the Ninth Circuit and has now afflicted the Fifth Circuit.  

The Fifth Circuit then reviewed Amin’s objection to the USCIS’s determination that he did not prove a fourth criterion: original scientific or business-related contributions of major significance in the field. It is interesting that Amin pushed for a finding recognizing that he had met this fourth criterion since 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x) only requires a satisfaction of three criteria. Amin’s petition has been denied because he did not meet the final merits determination, and it appears that getting recognition that he met the fourth criterion would potentially be used to argue that he met the final merits determination if he met one more criterion. Indeed, the Fifth Circuit’s decision, namely footnote 7 states: “we review the agency’s step one analysis because if Amin satisfies a fourth regulatory criteria, he has a stronger overall case for extraordinary ability at the second step.” Amin pointed to his contributions in designing the world’s first portable sulfur-forming units, the first modularized well pads in the Alberta Oil Sands, and a high-efficiency “walking” drill rig capable of being moved from one well pad to another without being disassembled.

The USCIS determined, and the Fifth Circuit agreed, that Amin did not meet his burden of proving that his designs were of major significance to his field. According to the Fifth Circuit, a letter of support provided by Amin’s employer, calling his design a response to an industry need, did not demonstrate how Amin’s first design had any impact on the field, beyond merely benefiting his employer. The China National Offshore Oil Corporation also provided a letter of support describing how it utilized Amin’s second design and how it adopted similar strategies to build modules in China but had proved unsuccessful at achieving the same efficiency. The Fifth Circuit called this Amin’s “best evidence” because it addressed the impact of his work beyond his own employer, but it still proved insufficient because it failed to show “widespread replication of the design.” While the USCIS’s denial did not specifically address Amin’s contributions to the third design, the drill rig, it did acknowledge the letter of support provided on Amin’s behalf, and according to the Fifth Circuit, any error on this point was harmless because Amin’s evidence did not show that anyone beyond his company used, or even attempted to use, the rig design. Ultimately, although Amin provided great value to his employers, the record did not demonstrate that either the quality or quantity of his work is indicative of sustained national or international acclaim or that his achievements have been recognized in the field of expertise.

It is unfortunate that the Fifth Circuit likened the EB-1 to a “genius” or “Einstein” visa. Although the INA requires the petitioner to demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim, it does not mean that one needs to be an “Einstein” to win an EB-1 approval, which incidentally was granted to Melania Trump when she was a well-known model, although not in the same league as a super model. Indeed, even Einstein may not have been able to meet three out of the ten criteria when he published his papers on Special Relativity and General Relativity in 1905 and 1915. Still, both Einstein in 1915 and Trump were deserving of EB-1 classification.  It is thus disheartening that the Fifth Circuit wrote: “If the three criteria Amin proved—leadership in an industry organization, a high salary, and peer review experience—are enough to automatically show that acclaim, then the ‘extraordinary ability’ visa will look less like an Einstein visa and more like a Lake Wobegon one.” The Fifth Circuit assuming that the EB-1 is an Einstein visa is as fictional as Lake Wobegon.  In fact, DHS also updated and broadened its guidance related to O-1A nonimmigrant status for noncitizens of extraordinary ability who have recently graduated in STEM fields. The legal standard under the O-1A visa for establishing extraordinary ability is identical to the EB-1. For the first time, this update provides examples of evidence that might satisfy the criteria by those who have recently graduated or formed startups.

Despite the grim fate this decision casts on EB-1 petitions, there may be a possible glimmer of hope in the Fifth Circuit’s decision because it suggests in footnote 7 that successfully satisfying more than three criteria can bolster one’s case for extraordinary ability at the final merits determination stage. Many petitioners who file under EB-1 may satisfy more than three out of the ten criteria, and they must make every effort to have USCIS recognize more than three so that they may get a better shot at passing the final merits determination.

(This blog is for informational purposes and should not be viewed as a substitute for legal advice).

*Jessica Paszko is a Law Clerk at Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners PLLC. She graduated with a J.D. degree from Brooklyn Law School in 2021, passed the New York Bar Examination and is awaiting admission to the New York Bar.

 

 

 

Cyrus Mehta

Extending the Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Bans: The Last Gasps of 212(f) Jurisprudence Under Trump

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By Cyrus D. Mehta & Kaitlyn Box*

On the last day of 2020, Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation extending two previous Proclamations – Proclamation 10014 (Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak) and Proclamation 10052 (Suspension of Entry of Immigrants and Nonimmigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak). Proclamation 10014, signed in April 2020, suspends certain green card applications, and restricts some nonimmigrant visa categories. Proclamation 10052 of June 22, 2020, itself an expansion of Proclamation 10014, curtailed the entry of individuals who were outside the United States without a visa or other immigration document on the effective date of the proclamation and were seeking to obtain an H-1B visa, H-2B visa, L visa or certain categories of the J visa. Our previous blog discusses Proclamation 10052 in detail.

Trump’s latest Proclamation extends the restrictions imposed by the previous Proclamations to March 31, 2021. The administration’s stated rationale for the Proclamation is high unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a desire to preserve as many jobs as possible for American workers. This reasoning stands in sharp contrast to Trump’s recent boast that unemployment rates have fallen below 6.7%. It appears that the Proclamation is actually the Trump administration’s last effort at restricting the immigration of highly skilled workers before President-elect Biden takes office in January. The extensions continue to rely on INA 212(f), which gives the president broad power to suspend the entry of foreign nationals whose entry would be detrimental to the interests of the US.  While invoking INA 212(f), Trump has invented new law regarding visa categories outside what Congress enacted through the Immigration and Nationality Act.  Trump relied on INA 212(f) to issue the various iterations of the travel ban and Presidential Proclamation 9822, which banned individuals who cross the Southern border between ports of entry from applying for asylum in the United States, to cite only a few examples.  Another example where the Trump administration invented the law, as discussed in a prior blog,  was in the exceptions to Proclamation 10052. One exception can be availed of by showing that the H-1B worker  is being paid 15% over the prevailing wage. The additional wage requirement is entirely absent from the INA.

Like planting a time bomb, the Trump administration has foisted on Biden the unpleasant choice of rescinding the Proclamation come January 20, likely to be a politically unpalatable move given that unemployment rates will probably remain high in the coming months as the pandemic drags on, or letting the Proclamation expire on its own on March 31, 2021. Regardless of which strategy the Biden administration chooses to pursue, would-be immigrants and highly-skilled foreign workers can take comfort in the fact that the Proclamation will be relatively short lived.

If the Biden administration chooses to rescind the proclamations before March 31, they must be mindful of a recent Ninth Circuit decision which has also upheld the Trump administration’s invocation of 212(f), this time as the authority for Presidential Proclamation 9945, “Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Will Financially Burden the United States Healthcare System, in Order to Protect the Availability of Healthcare Benefits for Americans.”, which barred immigrant visa applicants for entering the United States unless they could demonstrate the ability to acquire health insurance within 30 days of entry or pay for healthcare expenses on their own.  John Doe #1 v. Trump, No. 19-36020, D.C. No. 3:19-cv-1743-SI, *1-2 (9th Cir. 2020). In Doe #1 v. Trump, the plaintiffs alleged, among other causes of action, that Proclamation 9945 exceeded the President’s authority under INA § 212(f). Id. at 10. The Ninth Circuit rejected this argument and upheld the healthcare proclamation, citing to Trump v. Hawaii in stating that INA § 212(f) grants the President broad discretion to restrict entry. Id. at 22; Trump v. Hawaii, 138 S. Ct. 2392, 2407 (2018). The court reasoned that INA § 212(f) limits the President’s authority in three ways – the President must find that entry of a certain class of immigrants is detrimental to U.S. interests, the limitations on entry imposed must be “temporally limited”, and the President must properly identify the “class of aliens” who are subject to the restrictions. John Doe #1 v. Trump at *22-26. The Ninth Circuit also indicated that another potential limitation is that a proclamation may not “expressly override” a provision of the INA, which may exist where the statute solves the “exact problem” as the proclamation. Thus, even if the healthcare proclamation overlapped with the public charge ground of inadmissibility at INA 212(a)(4), the imposition of an additional ground of inadmissibility via INA 212(f) will not be viewed as the proclamation overriding the public charge provision.  Finding that Proclamation 9945 did not exceed any of these limitations, the court upheld it as a valid exercise of the President’s authority under INA § 212(f). Id. at *26.

The Ninth Circuit’s decision in Doe #1 v. Trump may, unfortunately, make it more difficult to challenge Presidential Proclamations issued in reliance on INA § 212(f) as an invalid exercise of Presidential authority. However, the decision can be read narrowly to apply only to Proclamation 9945. It might also give ammunition to those who may wish to challenge Biden’s authority to rescind Proclamation 9945 and the extended Proclamations 10052 and 10014. The new administration must carefully  follow the holding in the Supreme Court’s decision in  Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California in rescinding Trump’s proclamations under INA 212(f) to ensure the rescissions are not found to be arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. The Biden administration must provide a detailed and cogent reason for rescinding Trump’s proclamations. In Department of Homeland Security v. Regents, in which the Supreme Court held that the rescission of DACA was a violation of the APA, the Court stated that an agency must comply “with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action” in rescinding an existing policy. Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, 591 U. S. ___, *29(2020). Special consideration should also be accorded to “whether longstanding policies may have ‘engendered serious reliance interests that must be taken into account.’” Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, 579 U. S. ___, (2016) (slip op., at 9) (quoting Fox Television, 556 U. S., at 515). A previous blog post discusses Department of Homeland Security v. Regents in greater detail. Given the detrimental impact that Proclamation 9945, together with Proclamations 10052 and 10014, has on U.S. interests, it is hoped that the Biden administration will be able to provide ample and well-reasoned justifications for rescission. Should President-elect Biden rescind the healthcare Proclamation soon after taking office, and withdraw the appeal before the Ninth Circuit’s mandate ensues after 45 days, the opinion may become a moot one.

The Doe #1 v. Trump opinion may limit the avenues for challenging Proclamation 9945, along with Proclamations 10052 and 10014. Although the ban [on H-1B and L-1 workers] was enjoined by the court in NAM (National Association of Manufacturers) v Trump, that ruling was limited to the plaintiff organizations that brought the suit. Therefore, the extension will still be effective on others. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling in the healthcare proclamation case, Doe 1 v. Trump,  may have jeopardized NAM v. Trump, already limited in its application, since the decision in NAM v. Trump was based partly on the idea that the healthcare Proclamation exceeded presidential power. However, all this may not matter if Biden withdraws the appeal before the mandate ensues and also rescinds Proclamation 10052.

We trust that the Biden administration will ensure that Doe #1 v. Trump does not become precedent in the Ninth Circuit, and that it will carefully rescind Trump’s proclamation.

 

*Kaitlyn Box graduated with a JD from Penn State Law in 2020, and works as a Law Clerk at Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners PLLC.

 

 

 

Cyrus Mehta

Innova Solutions v. Baran: Computer Programmer is a Specialty Occupation Under the H-1B Visa

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By Cyrus D. Mehta & Kaitlyn Box*

On December 16, 2020, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in Innova Solutions, Inc. v. Baran,  which involved a technology company, Innova, that wanted to hire an Indian employee in the specialty occupation of Computer Programmer, and filed an H-1B petition on his behalf. Innova Solutions, Inc. v. Baran, No. 19-16849, *4.  USCIS denied the petition stating that Innova failed to show that the position of Computer Programmer is a specialty occupation. Id. at 5-6. USCIS relied heavily on the Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), which states that “[m]ost computer programmers have a bachelor’s degree”, thereby implying that some individuals employed as computer programmers do not have bachelor’s degrees. Id.

In a prior blog, we have discussed the outcome of the Innova Solutions, Inc. v. Baran case at the District Court level. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California heard the case in 2018, and held that the position of Programming Analyst, categorized under the OOH’s Computer Programmer classification, did not qualify as a specialty occupation because the OOH’s description for Computer Programmer stated only that “most” Computer Programmers have a bachelor’s degree but “some employers hire workers with an associate’s degree”. Innova Sols., Inc. v. Baran, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134790, *17.

The Ninth Circuit reversed the District Court’s grant of summary judgment to USCIS, and remanded the case, holding the USCIS’ denial of the visa was arbitrary and capricious. The court first examined the OOH language, holding that USCIS’s denial of the petition on this basis was arbitrary and capricious. Innova Solutions, Inc. v. Baran, No. 19-16849, *8. The court compared the OOH statements that “[m]ost computer programmers have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related subject” and a bachelor’s degree is the “[t]ypical level of education that most workers need to enter” with the computer programmer occupation to the regulatory language at 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), which requires that a bachelor’s degree “normally” the minimum education required for the occupation. Id. The court found there to be no appreciable difference between these two descriptions, stating that: “[t]here is no daylight between typically needed, per the OOH, and normally required, per the regulatory criteria”. Id. Given the agreement between the two requirements, the court found that USCIS’s denial of the visa based on the OOH criteria was arbitrary and capricious, lambasting USCIS’s reasoning as “beyond saving” and stating that “there is no “rational connection” between the only source USCIS cited, which indicated most computer programmers have a bachelor’s degree and that a bachelor’s degree is typically needed, and USCIS’s decision that a bachelor’s degree is not normally required”. Id. at *9.

The court was similarly unpersuaded by USCIS’s argument that OOH language stating that “some employers hire workers with an associate’s degree” indicates that a bachelor’s degree is not normally required for the position. Id. at 10. In fact, the court reasoned, this language is entirely consistent with the regulatory criteria, which requires only that a bachelor’s degree “normally”, and not “always”, be required for entry into an occupation. Id. The court stated that “[w]hile agencies are entitled to deference in interpreting their own ambiguous regulations, this regulation is not ambiguous and deference to such an implausible interpretation is unwarranted, relying on Kisor v. Wilkie, 139 S. Ct. 2400, 2414 (2019), which limited Auer deference to “genuinely ambiguous” regulations. Id. at 10-11.

The court also held that USCIS’s denial was arbitrary and capricious because it mischaracterized the language in the OOH. Id. at *12-13. The USCIS decision claimed that the OOH stated that “the [computer programmer] occupation allows for a wide range of educational credentials, including an associate’s degree to qualify”, when in fact it states merely that “[m]ost computer programmers have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related subject; however, some employers hire workers with an associate’s degree.” Id. at 13. While it acknowledged that “a factual error is not necessarily fatal to an agency decision”, the court found USCIS’s misconstruction of the OOH language to be arbitrary and capricious in this instance because whether or not computer programmers normally possess a bachelor’s degree was central to USCIS’s decision. Id.

Finally, the court found USCIS’s decision arbitrary and capricious because it failed to consider key evidence. Id. at *14. The court reasoned that OOH language stating that a bachelor’s degree is the “[t]ypical level of education that most workers need” to become a computer programmer was prominently featured on the OOH landing page and of central importance to the USCIS’s determination, but the USCIS failed event to mention this language in its decision. Id.

While the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Innova Solutions is doubtless a victory for U.S. technology companies who employ foreign workers as computer programmers, the decision has broader implications, as well. For one, the decision is a refreshing rebuttal to USCIS’s longstanding practice of challenging computer programming on specialty occupation grounds. On March 31, 2017, the USCIS issued a policy memorandum that rescinded earlier 2000 guidance that acknowledged the position of computer programmer as a specialty occupation. The 2017 policy memorandum relied on the current language in the OOH as basis for rescission of the earlier guidance. Importantly, the Ninth Circuit in Innova Solutions held that this same language from the OOH does not contradict the regulatory criteria at 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), effectively undercutting the USCIS’ rationale for issuing the 2017 memorandum.

Additionally, Innova Solutions represents the first recent reported circuit court decision in which the court has ruled in favor of the H-1B petitioner. Other landmark circuit court cases have historically favored the USCIS. In Defensor v. Meissner, for example, the Fifth Circuit ruled against a medical staffing agency that had filed H-1B petitions on behalf of the nurses it employed on the grounds that the end hospital where the nurses were placed was really the supervising entity, and reasoning that no evidence suggested these hospitals required the nurses to possess bachelor’s degrees.  Defensor v. Meissner, 201 F.3d (5th Cir. 2000). In Defensor, the court held that the held that the criteria in 8 CFR § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) are merely necessary conditions, rather than necessary and sufficient conditions, to establish that a position is a specialty occupation, a decision the USCIS often cites in H-1B RFEs. Id. Similarly, in Royal Siam Corp. v. Chertoff, the First Circuit ruled in favor of USCIS’s position that a position which requires a degree in a specific specialty related to the duties and responsibilities of the job should be accorded more weight than a generic degree requirement. Royal Siam Corp v. Chertoff, 484 F.3d 139 (First Cir. 2007). Innova Solutions is thus a unique and welcome victory for H-1B petitioners in the circuit courts.

The Ninth Circuit’s decision is in line with a number of recent decisions in lower courts in which, in contrast to most circuit court cases, H-1B petitioners have successfully challenged USCIS’s denial of H-1B petitions on the grounds that the position in question did not qualify as a specialty occupation. See, e.g., Taylor Made Software, Inc. v. Cissna, Civil Action No. 2019-0202 (D.D.C. 2020); Relx, Inc. v. Baran, 397 F. Supp. 3d 41 (D.D.C. 2019); Next Generation Technology v. Johnson, 15 cv 5663 (S.D.N.Y. 2017). In Innova Solutions, the Ninth Circuit reminds the USCIS, as the numerous lower court decisions have done, that the OOH may not be used as a Holy Grail to deny H-1B petitions that are based on well-reasoned arguments by the petitioner and corroborated by substantial evidence, including expert opinions.

Finally, one cannot overstate the growing importance of Kisor v. Wilkie in limiting the USCIS’s ability to exercise broad discretion in interpreting its own regulations under Auer precedent. Auer v. Robbins, 519 U.S. 452 (1997). In its decision in Innova Solutions, the court acknowledges that Auer deference applies only to genuinely ambiguous regulations, which 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) is not. The court’s decision reminds the USCIS that Auer deference is not a broad license to deny meritorious H-1B petitions.

*Kaitlyn Box graduated with a JD from Penn State Law in 2020, and works as a Law Clerk at Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners PLLC.

Cyrus Mehta

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Constitutionality of Smuggling Statute That Could Impact Immigration Lawyers

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The Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of a smuggling statute under the Immigration and Nationality Act. United States v. Sineneng-Smith, No. 19-67. The statutory provision in question, INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv),  permits a felony prosecution of anyone who “encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States” if the encourager knew or recklessly disregarded “the fact  that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of the law.”

INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv), which involves encourage a non-citizen to reside in the United States in violation of law, is a companion to other related smuggling provisions such as “brings to” or “smuggling” (INA §274(a)(1)(A)(i)), “transportation” (INA §274(a)(1)(A)(ii)), and “harboring” (§274(a)(1)(A)(iii)). While these three provisions relating to smuggling, transportation and harboring are discrete, the “encouraging” provision is far broader and can potentially apply to a person who encourages an undocumented person who is already residing in the United States to do so in violation of the law. This provision could thus also potentially reach ethical lawyers who advise and represent undocumented clients.

The Ninth Circuit in United States v. Evelyn Sineneng-Smith ruled last year that INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv) was so broad and vague that it could criminalize speech protected under the First Amendment. The following examples were provided in the Ninth Circuit’s decision that could potentially constitute criminal conduct under this provision:

  • A loving grandmother who urges her grandson to overstay his visa by telling him “I encourage you to stay”
  • A speech addressed to a gathered crowd or directed to undocumented individuals on social media in which the speaker says something such as “I encourage all you folks out there without legal status to stay in the US! We are in the process of trying to change the immigration laws, and the more we can show the potential hardship on people who have been in the country a long time, the better we can convince American citizens to fight for us and grant us a path to legalization”
  • An attorney tells her client that she should remain in the country while contesting removal – because, for example, non-citizens within the United States have greater due process rights than those outside the United States, and because as a practical matter, the government may not physically remove her until removal proceedings have been completed.

The government, on the other hand, argued that INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv) should be read narrowly to target unscrupulous lawyers and unauthorized practitioners who dupe migrants into staying in the United States in violation of the law.  Despite the broadness of INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv), the government asserted that it was not its intention to prosecute people in the above examples who were exercising free speech. Indeed, United States v. Evelyn Sineneng-Smith involved an unauthorized practitioner who operated an immigration consulting firm in San Jose, California. Sineneng-Smith represented mostly natives of the Philippines who were unlawfully employed in the home health care industry and who sought to adjust their status to permanent residence through the filing of a labor certification by an employer.  These clients were not eligible to apply for adjustment of status in the United States under INA § 245(i) which expired on April 30, 2001 and they also did not appear to be grandfathered under this provision. Although Sineneng-Smith knew that her clients were not eligible under 245(i), she continued to sign retainer agreements with them and tell them that they could apply for green cards in the United States. At least two of the clients testified that they would have left the country if they were advised that they were not eligible to apply for permanent residence.

Sinseneng-Smith was convicted by a jury on two counts of encouraging and inducing an alien to remain in the United States for the purposes of financial gain, in violation of INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv) and INA §274(a)(1)(B)(i). She also got convicted on two counts of mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1341. The Ninth Circuit reversed her convictions under INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv) and INA §274(a)(1)(B)(i) on the ground that “encourage” and “induce” under their plain meaning restrict vast swaths of protected expression in violation of the First Amendment despite the government countering that the statute only prohibits conduct and a narrow band of unprotected free speech. Because the provision was so overbroad, the Ninth Circuit refused to construe it narrowly as the Third Circuit in DelRio-Mocci v. Connolly Properties had done by holding that encouraging or inducing an alien to reside in the United States did not mean just general advice but some more substantial assurance that would make someone lacking lawful status more likely to enter or remain in the United States.

The Supreme Court granted the government’s petition for a writ of certiorari. According to the Crimigration blog, the “Supreme Court’s decision to hear this case is … fascinating” as there was not really a circuit split. Typically, the Court agrees to hear a case when there is a sharp conflict in the lower courts regarding the proper interpretation of a statute. Here there is hardly a split between the Ninth Circuit in United States v. Sinseneng-Smith and the Third Circuit in DelRio-Mocci as the latter does not involve First Amendment. Instead, the Third Circuit’s holding was based on a private lawsuit claiming that an apartment property management company violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by encouraging undocumented people to reside in the United States unlawfully in their property as tenants. Sinseneng-Smith  claimed in opposition to the government’s certiorari petition that the government asserting that the circuits are in conflict is nothing more than an “attempt to conjure a limited circuit split.” It will also be interesting to see how Justice Gorsuch rules in this case as he is averse to laws that are void for void for vagueness as he did in demolishing “crimes of violence” in  Sessions v. Dimaya. Although the Ninth Circuit did not have to deal with the void for vagueness challenge as it found the statutory provision unconstitutional under First Amendment overbreadth analysis, both sorts of challenges might be of interest to Justice Gorsuch that might potentially  align him with the four liberal justices.

Whatever may have been the motivations of the Supreme Court to take up the case, how the Supreme Court will rule carries important implications especially for immigration lawyers. If the Supreme Court reverses the Ninth Circuit and upholds the constitutionality of the provision, would an immigration attorney advising unauthorized individuals to remain in the United States to seek adjustment of status at a later point in time, whenever they become eligible, be within the scope of the prohibition against encouragement or inducement under INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv)? Granted that the facts in Sineneng-Smith are bad as she advised clients as an unauthorized practitioner, but even if Sineneng-Smith was a lawyer, she would have still been convicted under the provision. Even if this lawyer had provided more appropriate advice when filing the labor certification such that the clients would have to return to their home country for consular processing, assuming an I-601A would be approved based on extreme hardship to a qualifying relative, the lawyer could have still been potentially implicated by advising the unauthorized person to remain in the US during the processing of the labor certification, I-140 petition and the I-601A waiver.

It is indeed salutary that the government strenuously argued in United States v. Sineneng-Smith that it would not prosecute cases cited  in the above three examples or with respect to lawyers giving legitimate advice to clients. But there is no guarantee that if the statute remains intact an overzealous prosecutor cannot try to prosecute attorneys providing legitimate advice to their clients in other examples, as I have discussed with Alan Goldfarb in AILA’s practice advisory,  Executive Disorder: Ethical Challenges for Immigration Lawyers Under the Trump Administration. A lawyer may advise a client whose citizen child is turning 21 in two years to remain so that she can adjust status in the United States. Even if the client may not have a citizen child who is turning 21, there is a possibility that the client may marry a US citizen some day and likewise be eligible for adjustment of status. Alternatively, if this client entered without inspection and is not eligible for adjustment of status, he may be eligible to file an advance I-601A waiver application of the 3 or 10 year bar based on a qualifying relationship with the prospective citizen spouse, and return to the home country for consular processing upon the approval of the I-601A application. A lawyer who may competently advise the client to remain in the United States during the pendency of the I-601A application could get snared for encouraging the unauthorized client to remain in the United States in violation of the law. In yet another example, lawyers represent clients who have outstanding orders of removal and have not departed the United States. Failure to depart within 90 days after a removal order pursuant to INA §237(a) under INA §243 renders such conduct a criminal felony. However, even here, INA §243(a)(2) provides for an exception: “It is not in violation of paragraph (1) to take any proper steps for the purpose of securing cancellation of or exemption from such order of removal or for the purpose of securing the alien’s release from incarceration or custody.” The competent lawyer will advise the client with the removal order to remain in the United States while every effort is made to reopen the removal order. A person with a final order of removal may attempt to reopen a removal order after several years if the government consents to reopening and there is available relief against deportation. See 8 C.F.R. §1003.2(c)(iii); 8 C.F.R. §1003.23(b)(4)(iv). Yet, under INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv) an ethical lawyer, who exercises great competence and diligence in representing a vulnerable client with a removal order, could get snared for encouraging the client to remain in the United States in violation of the law even if there is a game plan down the road to render the client’s stay lawful.

The most prudent approach is for a lawyer to refrain from expressly advising or encouraging a client to remain in the U.S. in violation of the law; and instead, present both the adverse consequences and potential benefits to clients if they to remain in the United States in violation of the law. Such an approach would also be prudent if the Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of §274(a)(1)(A)(iv) even if the government has asserted in its pleadings that it will enforce the law in a limited manner. Regardless of whether §274(a)(1)(A)(iv) is upheld or not, a lawyer’s conduct should be guided by rules of professional responsibility. Significantly, ABA Model Rule 1.2(d) states that “[a] lawyer shall not counsel a client to engage, or assist a client, in conduct that the lawyer knows is criminal or fraudulent, but a lawyer may discuss the legal consequences of any proposed course of conduct with a client and may counsel or assist a client to make a good faith effort to determine the validity, scope, meaning or application of the law.” Please note that this is only a Model Rule, and readers should check the analog to Rule 1.2(d) within the rules of professional responsibility within their own state.

In the immigration law context, a disciplinary authority would be hard pressed to conclude that a lawyer who advises an unauthorized client to remain in the United States due to the likelihood of benefiting at some point in the future would be engaging in conduct that is criminal or fraudulent. Still, there is still a possibility of criminal prosecution under the broad ambit of §274(a)(1)(A)(iv), and  a lawyer who practices within the confines of Model Rule 1.2(d) – such as presenting the legal consequences of remaining in the United States or not rather than explicitly advising the client to remain –  should be more insulated than a lawyer who does not.

 

 

 

Cyrus Mehta

Poursina v. USCIS: Federal Courts May Not Have Last Word in Reviewing a Denial of a National Interest Waiver

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Filing lawsuits in federal court to challenge erroneous denials of visa petitions by USCIS have become more frequent. There is more of a shot at a reversal when a federal judge reviews a denial of the USICS. Under the Administration Procedures Act, a court must set aside an agency action that is “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law.” 5 U.S.C. §706(2)(A). Seeking review in federal court under the APA is far more powerful that appealing a denial to the USCIS’s Administrative Appeals Office, which seldom reverses denials. Sometimes, however, a challenge in federal court can get nixed if the court finds that it has no jurisdiction to review a discretionary decision under §242(a)(2)(B)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

In Poursina v. USCIS, the plaintiff sadly found out that a federal court had no jurisdiction to review a denial of his request for a national interest waiver under the jurisdiction stripping §242(a)(2)(B)(ii) because the granting of a national interested waiver is inherently discretionary.

INA 242(a)(2)(B) is reproduced below in its entirety:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law (statutory or nonstatutory), including section 2241 of title 28, or any other habeas corpus provision, and sections 1361 and 1651 of such title, and except as provided in subparagraph (D), and regardless of whether the judgment, decision, or action is made in removal proceedings, no court shall have jurisdiction to review-

(i) any judgment regarding the granting of relief under section 212(h), 212(i), 240A, 240B, or 245, or

(ii) any other decision or action of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority for which is specified under this subchapter to be in the discretion of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security, other than the granting of relief under section 208(a) of this title

The Ninth Circuit in Poursina v. USCIS relied on INA 242(a)(2)(B)(ii), which requires that Congress must specify n the statutory provision that the decision must be in the discretion of the Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security. At issue is whether Congress specified that the issuance of a national interest waiver under INA 203(b)(2)(1)(A) is a discretionary decision.

If a national interest waiver is granted, a foreign national can waive the employer’s sponsorship through a labor certification in the employment-based second preference. Specifically, INA § 203(b)(2)(1)(A) states that the “Attorney General may, when the Attorney General deems to be in the national interest, waive the requirements….that an alien’s services in the sciences, arts, professions,  or business be sought by an employer in the United States.”  Note that under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Congress transferred this authority from the Attorney General to the Secretary of Homeland Security.

INA § 203(b)(2)(1)(A) does not contain magic words such as “in the discretion of the Attorney General” to place it within the purview of the jurisdiction stripping provision. Still, the Ninth Circuit in Poursina v. USCIS opined that words like “may” and “deems it so” suggested some measure of judgment, and thus discretion on the part of the Attorney General (now the DHS Secretary) in granting a national interest waiver.  Moreover, the Ninth Circuit was also enamored by the fact that the invocation of “national interest” inherently exudes deference to the Executive Branch, See Webster v. Doe, 486 U.S. 592 (1988),  and further invokes broader economic and national security considerations that are firmly committed to the discretion of the Executive Branch, See Trump v. Hawaii, 138 S. Ct. 2392 (2018).

But assuming the Ninth Circuit’s logic was correct, even within a discretionary decision that may be immune from judicial review under INA 242(a)(2)(B)(ii), there may be purely legal questions that are non-discretionary. Indeed, the precedent decision of the Appeals Administrative Office in Matter of Dhanasar imposed such objective criteria that required the DHS Secretary to measure the national interest claim under those criteria rather than through the exercise of unbridled discretion. A person seeking a national interest waiver mush show:

(1)that the foreign national’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; (2) that the foreign national is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and (3) that, on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification. If these three elements are satisfied, USCIS may approve the national interest waiver as a matter of discretion.

Notwithstanding these criteria that are similar to other undisputable objective regulatory criteria in determining who is extraordinary under INA § 203(b)(1)(A) and 8 CFR § 204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x), the Ninth Circuit in Poursina v. USCIS strangely held they fell short of a legal standard, and the Dhanasar standards expressly reserved the issuance of the waiver “as a matter of discretion.” But is there not always some discretion in all agency adjudications?  Even under the extraordinary ability standard pursuant to §203(b)(1)(A) there is discretion in determining whether fulfillment of the evidentiary criteria under 8 CFR § 204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x) can survive a final merits determination. See  Kazarian v. USCIS, 596 F.3d 1115 (9th Cir. 2010).  Yet, courts have always assumed jurisdiction over appeals challenging denials under extraordinary ability standard.

One should therefore be able to argue that a federal court is not forever precluded from reviewing a denial of a national interest waiver. If  for example the USCIS does not apply the Dhanasar standard whatsoever in a future case, would that then pose a purely legal question or will a court, following  Poursina v. USCIS, throw out the case under INA 242(a)(2)(B)(ii)?  In fact, with respect to a denial of Poursina’s second national interest waiver, Poursina claimed that he never received a request for evidence. The Ninth Circuit ultimately shot down that claim on the grounds that Poursina did not update his address with USCIS in time, but agreed that a constitutional claim, such as this, is not subject to INA §242(a)(2)(b)(ii)’s jurisdictional bar.

One Third Circuit case, Pinho v. Gonzales, 422 F.3d 193 (3d Cir. 2005) is especially noteworthy and discussed in David Isaacson’s blog.  Pinho’s adjustment of status application was denied because he was found to be ineligible as a result of a disqualifying conviction. However, that conviction was vacated and the charges were dismissed, but the adjustment application was still erroneously denied on the ground that his vacated guilty plea still met the definition of “conviction” under the INA.  Pinho was not placed in removal proceedings and he sought review of the denial of his adjustment of status application in federal court under the APA despite the bar on review of discretionary decisions, including adjustment of status under INA §242(a)(2)(B)(i), which is the companion jurisdiction stripping provision to INA §242(a)(2)(B)(ii). The Third Circuit Court held that this denial was based on the legal question of whether Pinho was statutorily eligible for adjustment of status, and thus fell outside the purview of the jurisdiction stripping clause.  The Third Circuit stated, “To treat all denials of adjustment as discretionary, even when based on eligibility determinations that are plainly matters of law, is to fundamentally misunderstand the relationship between the executive and the judiciary.”

Hence, under Pinho, there may still be scope to review a denial of a discretionary national interest waiver denial in federal court if there was a legal error or a constitutional claim. It must be acknowledged that the facts in Pinho were different as that case clearly concerned statutory eligibility without any element of discretion.    It remains to be seen whether a plaintiff can show legal error if the standards set forth in Matter of Dhanasar are not properly evaluated by the USCIS even though the application of those standards require discretion. This argument was not successful in Poursina v. USCIS, as the Ninth Circuit was of the opinion that the Dhanasar standards still smacked of discretion.  Moreover, in Kucana v. Holder, 558 U.S. 233 (2010), the Supreme Court held that only decisions actually declared discretionary by statute can be immunized from judicial review and not decisions made discretionary by regulation. This would also apply in the reverse. A discretionary statute cannot be made non-discretionary by regulation, or by standards set forth by the AAO in precedent decision such as Dhanasar.

While Poursina v. USCIS may have immunized national interest waiver denials from judicial review, the holding should be limited to national interest waivers only and should not impact the ability to challenge denials of other visa petitions in federal court, such as H-1B, L, or EB-1 cases.  The language of INA 214(c)(1) about how a nonimmigrant petition “shall be determined by the Attorney General” is even further away from explicit discretion than the national interest waiver language , and INA §203(b)(1)(A) regarding EB-1 cases doesn’t even have that level of Attorney General authority specified. Thus, in an APA action challenging a religious worker denial under INA §203(b)(4), the Third Circuit in Soltane v. US Dep’t of Justice, 381 F.3d 143 (3rd Cir. 2004) held that the provision did not specify that the Attorney General had discretion.  In Residential Finance Corporation v. USCIS, a federal district court in Ohio reversed a denial of an H-1B case and the court also overrode the objections of the government that it did not have jurisdiction under INA §242(a)(2)(B)(ii). None of the provisions governing approval of an H-1B petition specified that granting a petition is in the discretion of the Attorney General. The court in Residential Finance distinguished the facts from those in CDI Information Services Inc. v. Reno, 278 F.3d 616 (6th Cir. 2002) which refused to review the denial of an H-1B application for extension of stay as the grant of such an extension was within the discretion of the attorney general under INA §214(a)(1).

While one may disagree with the holding in Poursina v. USCIS, seeking review of a denial of a national waiver request in federal court is more likely to fail than the review of denial of other petitions. Even the DC Court of Appeals in Zhu v. Gonzales, 411 F.3d 292 (D.C. Cir. 2005) has agreed. The Ninth Circuit even refused to extend its holding in ANA International v. Way, 393 F.3d 886 (9th Cir. 2004), which held that the visa revocation statute, INA §205, was not subject to the jurisdiction stripping provision although it was linguistically similar to the national interest waiver statute as it did not contain any language suggesting discretion. Thus, unless another circuit court disagrees with Poursina v. USICS and Zhu v. Gonzales, an APA challenge seeking review of a national interest denial, without more, may not succeed. In a future case, an argument can be made that when the statute, which in this case INA § 203(b)(2)(1)(A) does not specify that the grant of a waiver is in the discretion of the Attorney General, the court should not be able to divine discretion from other words in the statute as the Ninth Circuit did in Poursina v. USCIS. This is especially so, when unlike the companion jurisdictional stripping provision under INA §242(a)(2)(B)(i), there is no specific mention of discretionary applications that immunize them from a court’s jurisdiction such as an adjustment of status application or cancellation of removal. Until there is such success, prospective litigants should be made aware that the USCIS’s Appeals Administrative Office rather than a federal court will likely have the final word when USCIS denies a national interest waiver request.

 

 

 

 

 

Cyrus Mehta

Trump’s Tweet On “Extreme Vetting” May Have Opened the Door to a Court Challenge

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The Trump administration has begun to apply extreme vetting on visa applicants, even though tourism has dropped this year. A new form, DS-5535, asks visa applicants extremely detailed questions about travels, work history and their presence on social media, as follows:

  • Travel history during the last fifteen years, including source of funding for travel;
  • Address history during the last fifteen years;
  • Employment history during the last fifteen years;
  • All passport numbers and country of issuance held by the applicant;
  • Names and dates of birth for all siblings;
  • Name and dates of birth for all children;
  • Names and dates of birth for all current and former spouses, or civil or domestic partners;
  • Social media platforms and identifiers, also known as handles, used during the last five years; and
  • Phone numbers and email addresses used during the last five years.

It is going to be extremely difficult for anyone who doesn’t keep meticulous records to accurately complete Form DS-5535. The form also warns that failing to provide the information may delay or prevent the application’s processing. It is not clear who will be subject to these additional questions. The US Department of State in its May 4, 2017 notice in the Federal Register has indicated that consular officers will ask visa applicants to complete the new form to “resolve an applicant’s identity or to vet for terrorism or other national security related visa ineligibilities when the consular officer determines that the circumstances of a visa applicant, a review of a visa application, or responses in a visa interview indicate a need for greater scrutiny.” The notice goes on to further state, “Failure to provide requested information will not necessarily result in visa denial, if the consular officer determines the applicant has provided a credible explanation why he or she cannot answer a question or provide requested supporting documentation, such that the consular officer is able to conclude that the applicant has provided adequate information to determine the applicant’s eligibility to receive the visa. The collection of social media platforms and identifiers will not be used to deny visas based on applicants’ race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, political views, gender, or sexual orientation.” Notwithstanding this assurance, it is quite likely that those who inadvertently fail to include all the information may be penalized later when applying for subsequent immigration benefits. A simple error could also create a false suspicion of fraud. The government has estimated that at least 65,000 people will be subject to the extreme vetting procedure.

As more and more visa applicants subjected to DS-5535 are likely to either face actual or constructive denials (such as where an application remains pending for an indefinite period of time), what recourse would one have? A consular officer has unbridled discretion over visa decisions. A visa applicant has no right to appeal. Courts are reluctant to review a consular officer’s decision. There may however be a sliver of an opening thanks to President Trump’s obsessive use of Twitter. Trump’s recent tweets might have provided a legal basis for challenging a visa denial under the new extreme vetting procedure, especially if a visa applicant has been denied  from one of the countries contemplated under the executive order that bans travel of nationals of six Muslim majority countries.

On June 5, 2017, following the latest terror attack in London, Trump issued a series of tweets that may have undercut his travel ban case. The first executive order banning nationals of seven Muslim majority countries was blocked because it was found to have animus against Muslims based on Trump’s campaign statements, and thus violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the US Constitution. The Trump administration subsequently issued the current executive order to overcome the infirmities in the first one, but even that was blocked. The Fourth Circuit’s decision in International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump upholding the preliminary injunction against the second travel ban stated that even this ban “in context drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination.”

The administration has asked the Supreme Court to remove the block on the ban. The key issue on appeal is whether the second version is merely a watered-down version of the first ban. If that is so, then the second version is no different from the first version, which was found infirm as it displayed an animus towards one religion, namely. Trump did not help his case when he actually admitted that the second travel ban is a watered-down version of the first ban:

The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.”

David Isaacson has astutely commented  that  the usage of the term “politically correct” at “Trump’s end of the political spectrum” implies that “it is unnecessarily or inappropriately tailored to avoid speaking of a minority group in a way that liberals would consider offensive.” In other words, this is a dog whistle to Trump’s base that the watered-down more “politically correct” version demonstrates the same animus against Muslims like the first one. There is also growing commentary that agrees that Trump’s tweets may have undercut his case in favor of the travel ban. Here are other damaging tweets that were part of Trump’s tweet storm on the travel ban on June 5:

The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court – & seek much tougher version!

and

People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!

Later in the evening on June 5, Trump tweeted this:

That’s right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won’t help us protect our people!

It is thus no surprise that Neal Katyal, the lawyer who argued for the plaintiffs in Hawaii v. Trump in the 9th Circuit, tweeted, “Its kinda odd to have the defendant in Hawaii v. Trump acting as our co-counsel. We don’t need the help but will take it!” Even George Conway, the husband of Trump’s adviser Kellyanne Conway, who took himself out of the running to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Division tweeted: “These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly won’t help OSG get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters. Sad,” he wrote, using abbreviations or Office of Solicitor General and the Supreme Court.”

There is one tweet of Trump as part of the June 5 tweet storm that did not get noticed as much as the others, which potentially opens the door for one who may wish to seek judicial review over a visa denial under the new extreme vetting procedures:

In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe. The courts are slow and political!

This tweet can be interpreted to mean that “EXTREME VETTING”, capitalized by Trump, is in effect a substitute for the travel ban, which the courts have blocked. If DS-5535 is used to wholesale deny visa applicants from Muslim countries in the executive order entry into the United States, then Trump’s animus against Muslims will also be evident in Form DS-5535. On its face, the government has every right to apply extreme vetting procedures on travelers to the United States and it would be difficult to overturn a consular denial as a result. However, as a result of Trump’s tweet implying that he has deployed extreme vetting as a substitute for the blocked travel ban, it may have created an opening for challenging the procedure.

Courts have continuously applied the “facially legitimate and bona fide” test of Kliendienst v. Mandel to challenges to individual visa denials. Justice Kennedy’s concurring opinion in Kerry v. Din affirms this standard. Although Mandel sets a high bar to plaintiffs, the Fourth Circuit’s majority opinion in IRAP v. Trump emphasized that the government’s action must both be facially legitimate as well as be bona fide. The government’s action, such as with the executive order banning nationals from six Muslim majority countries in the name of national security may have been facially legitimate, but may not have been bona fide as the President used it as a cover to fulfill his promise to ban Muslims from the United States. This constituted bad faith, according to the majority opinion, and thus the executive order was not bona fide. Where the good faith has “seriously been called into question,” the court concluded it should be allowed to “look behind the stated reason for the challenged action.” The court used the test in Lemon v. Kurtzman to establish that the travel ban violated the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution by disfavoring Muslims. Relying on statements that President Trump made both during his campaign and after he became President, the travel ban was in effect a legal attempt to effectuate Trump’s promised Muslim ban rather than advance national security. The Fourth Circuit opinion broke new ground by challenging the long-held notion that the courts must always defer to the government on national security concerns, especially when the government acts in bad faith.

Trump’s recent tweets seem to suggest that the new travel ban, as a watered down and “politically correct” version of the original travel ban, was intended to fulfill his campaign promise of banning Muslims from the United States. Thus, one can infer that even the second ban was issued in bad faith, which the Supreme Court will soon review. The same could be said about Trump’s tweet on extreme vetting, as it appears to be a substitute for the travel ban, which was found to have been done in bad faith. If there is pattern of nationals from the blocked countries in the travel ban being denied visas under the extreme vetting procedures pursuant to DS-5535, applicants could potentially challenge such denials as being done in bad faith. As suggested in my prior blog, IRAP v. Trump provides a basis to challenge visa refusals if they are done in bad faith even beyond the travel ban. One can see this happening if applicants from the countries cited in the travel bans are routinely refused admission as a pretext for blocking Muslims. Admittedly, a challenge of this sort would be difficult, and the plaintiff would also need to assert standing. Standing would be easier to assert, though, when there is a constitutional claim, especially if extreme vetting like the travel ban violates the Establishment Clause, and when cases are brought by US citizens or when the interests of US citizens may be jeopardized as a result of the visa refusal.

At the time of going to press, the Ninth Circuit also issued a decision in Hawaii v. Trump that upholds the block of the lower district court, but on statutory grounds. The Ninth Circuit did not even need to get into the constitutional argument on whether the executive order displayed animus towards Muslims and thus violated the Establishment Clause, and instead ruled that the executive order violates INA 212(f). By suspending the entry of 180 million nationals of the six blocked countries, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the President did not show a sufficient justification that their suspension would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States” under INA 212(f). Although the Ninth Circuit in making a statutory argument did not feel the need to analyze Trump’s tweets, footnote 14 in on page 40 of the slip opinion mentioned one of the tweets:

Indeed, the President recently confirmed his assessment that it is the “countries” that are inherently dangerous, rather than the 180 million individual nationals of those countries who are barred from entry under the President’s “travel ban.” See Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter (June 5, 2017, 6:20 PM), https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/871899511525961728 (“That’s right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won’t help us protect our people!”) (emphasis in original); see also Elizabeth Landers, White House: Trump’s tweets are “official statements”, CNN (June 6, 2017, 4:37 PM), http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/06/politics/trump-tweets-official-statements/ (reporting the White House Press Secretary’s confirmation that the President’s tweets are “considered official statements by the President of the United States”).

Ultimately, the Supreme Court will be the final arbiter and may either affirm the reasoning of the Fourth Circuit or the Ninth Circuit, or reverse. If the Supreme Court lifts the block, then that would end the matter and this blog may become moot. If the Supreme Court affirms the block, then Trump’s tweet on extreme vetting might still be relevant if a plaintiff decides to challenge a visa denial and especially if the Supreme Court upheld the Fourth Circuit’s constitutional argument rather than the Ninth Circuit’s statutory argument. One can see the Trump administration deploying extreme vetting with full force as a substitute to the blocked travel ban. If extreme vetting harms the image and economy of the United States by dissuading bona fide travelers form Muslim-majority countries, and does nothing to enhance national security interests, it is incumbent on those who view the United States as a great nation because of its welcoming attitude towards visitors and immigrants to find creative ways to challenge DS-5535.

Cyrus Mehta

USA v. OLIVAR: Conspiracy To Commit Criminal Acts Prior To Naturalization Can Still Result In Revocation Of Citizenship

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One of the advantages of becoming a US citizen is that one is no longer susceptible to being deported from the United States, especially if the person has been convicted of a crime. While being convicted of a crime results in criminal penalties, a US citizen can at least take comfort that that there will be no removal, and the United States will continue to remain home for the convicted person.

Think again.

In United States of America v. Olivar, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on April 18, 2016 upheld the revocation of citizenship of a naturalized person who was convicted of criminal conspiracy for acts undertaken prior to applying for naturalization.  Olivar, a native of the Philippines,  was naturalized as a US citizen in May 2002. In the same year, according to a Law360 story, Olivar began working at a law firm in the Los Angeles area in 2002. Seven years later, in early 2009, he was indicted on conspiracy charges in connection with a visa fraud scheme. Olivar and a second invidual recruited  people who were not authorized to work in the U.S., charging them anywhere between $1,000 and $7,500 to find a business that would sponsor them for an employment-based immigrant visa. They filed applications with the Labor Department and immigration authorities claiming the individuals would be working in skilled positions, like accountants or public relations specialists, according to Law360. The businesses allegedly never actually intended to employ the individuals, the prosecutors alleged. Olivar was also accused of helping the immigrants falsify their education and work experience if they didn’t meet the requirements for the H-1B visa, by using false diplomas, transcripts and reference letters. Olivar eventually pled guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud in April 2009 in violation of 18 USC 2, 371 and 1546 and was sentenced to just over one year in jail. Federal authorities later started efforts to revoke his citizenship, claiming he lacked good moral character in the five year period leading up to naturalization in May 2002 based on unlawful acts that adversely reflected upon his good moral character. These acts involved a conspiracy to commit visa fraud, which was a crime involving moral turpitude.

While this sounds Kafkaesque, it is possible to lose the coveted US citizenship if a person is convicted of a crime, based on conduct that occurred prior to naturalization. While a person only knows for certain about the crime being committed at the point of conviction, prior acts, or even an agreement to commit acts in the future, can potentially lead a court to conclude retroactively that acts prior to conviction adversely reflected on the person’s good moral character.

The Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, asks broadly “Have you ever committed a crime or offense for which you have never been arrested?” In a prior blog,  “Crime Without Punishment: Have You Ever Committed A Crime For Which You Have Not Been Arrested?” this author puzzled on how an immigration attorney should advise a client to answer this overbroad question. It is impossible to know whether a person has committed a crime or offense, unless it is proven beyond reasonable doubt in the criminal justice system. It may thus be problematic to advise a client to admit to a commission of a crime on the N-400 application when one does not know what provision of the law was violated, and whether the applicant met all the elements of that offense. Since this overbroad question also requires admitting non-criminal offenses, it would be difficult, and frankly ridiculous,  to plumb through the memory of the client to recall every minor offense that may have been committed in this person’s life, which may include such insignificant offenses as jay walking  (a daily occurrence in New York City!) or driving above the speed limit.  Nevertheless, failure to disclose whether a person has committed a crime for which there was no charge or arrest can be used against the person if there is a conviction after the naturalization. In U.S. v. Bogacki, for example, the defendant was convicted for conspiracy to bring in and harbor aliens, make false statements, commit mail fraud and wire fraud, and fraud by misuse of immigration documents, among others, after he had naturalized. However, the government was successful in denaturalizing him for his failure to specifically mention the question about committing a crime for which you have not been arrested on the N-400 application.

In USA v. Olivar, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals avoided relying on this ambiguous question on the N-400 application, and instead found that he lacked good moral character during the five year period preceding his naturalization. According to the Court, “The district court made clear that the Appellant was denaturalized because he lacked good moral character during the statutory period, and did not find that Olivar should be denaturalized because he made a material misrepresentation on his naturalization form.”  What is unusual about USA v. Olivar is that he had only agreed to commit a criminal act in the future, and the essential element of conspiracy, the overt act, only occurred after his naturalization. Was Olivar a criminal during the five year period prior to his naturalization, and thus lacking in good moral character? The following extract from the Law360 story is worth noting:

During oral arguments earlier this month, his attorney, Nimrod Haim Aviad of Crowell & Moring LLP, acknowledged that authorities alleged the conspirators began discussing the visa scheme back in 2001, several months before Olivar became a citizen.

But Aviad said no one acted on the plan until after Olivar’s naturalization. So, when Olivar was sworn in as a U.S. citizen, he was not a criminal and had not committed an illegal act, Aviad argued.

“When I agree to commit an act, that does not mean that I committed it,” he said. “That is the very basic principle that underlies the law of conspiracy.”

Judges appeared to be skeptical of the argument.

“So somebody could decide to engage in four or five illegal conspiracies to smuggle drugs, smuggle aliens, do a whole bunch of stuff, and say ‘but hold off, I’m going to become a citizen next week and then we’ll start buying the guns?’” Circuit Judge Susan P. Graber asked. “And that’s okay?”

As a result of his conviction in 2009, Olivar is no longer a US citizen based on an agreement prior to his naturalization to commit criminal acts in the future, and is potentially deportable. His case is especially striking since conspiracy, in addition to proving that two or more people two or more people were in agreement to commit a crime,   also requires an “overt act” taken in furtherance of the crime.  In USA v. Olivar, the applicant could not have been accused of conspiracy during the statutory period requiring good moral character prior to naturalization as the overt act had occurred long after he had become a citizen.  This appears to be a case of first impression, and the Ninth Circuit’s conclusion seems to be at odds with the law of conspiracy. Even with respect to decisions involving deportation, the only relevant decision involving deportation as a result of conspiracy that this author found (with David Isaacson’s assistance) is Matter of T-, 2 I&N Dec. 95 (1944). In Matter of T, the respondent was found not to be deportable for a crime involving moral turpitude committed within 5 years after entry as the overt act in that conspiracy occurred prior to his entry into the United States. The respondent, however, was still found deportable for having admitted to the commission of a crime involving moral turpitude prior to this entry, but it is significant that the charge of deportability for the commission of a crime after entry was not sustained as the overt act took place prior to entry. Because the Ninth Circuit’s decision in USA v. Olivar does not appear to be crystal clear, this is not going to be the last word on whether citizenship can be revoked based on an agreement to commit a crime prior to naturalization, but where the overt act occurred after naturalization.

Cyrus Mehta

TRANSMISSION OF AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP THROUGH ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY – AN UPDATE

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By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” Lao –Tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC-531 BC)

Ed. note – This article updates information from a previous piece, “Answer Man: Assisted Reproductive Technology and U.S. Immigration Law.”

The Department of State has announced a major and most welcome policy shift to facilitate the transmission of American citizenship to children born outside the United States using Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). It will no longer be necessary in all such cases for the “mother “to have a genetic link to the child. The Department has happily now recognized that American mothers can pass on citizenship to children to whom they give birth regardless of whose egg was used for conception. The “mother” must be the legal mother at the time and place of the child’s birth and the gestational mother. Under the new State Department policy, the biological mother can either be the genetic or the gestational mother; the biological father can obviously only be the genetic father.  The State Department policy goes onto clarify: 

If the child is biologically related to a US citizen father, but not to the father’s spouse, the case would be treated as a birth out of wedlock to a U.S. citizen father, pursuant to INA 309(a), and the father would have to meet the additional requirements of that section.  If the child is biologically related to a U.S. citizen mother, but not her spouse, the case would be treated as a birth out of wedlock to a U.S. citizen mother, and would have to meet the requirements of INA 309(c).  If the child is the biological child of both parents, and the biological parents are married to one another, INA 301 requirements would apply, including a requirement that at least one of the US citizen parents had resided in the United States prior to the child’s birth.

In addition, the State Department now views the child of a legally married lesbian couple as being “born in wedlock” if the baby is conceived from the egg of one mother and carried by the other.

Under the new policy, a US citizen mother who gives birth to a biological child abroad, including through a foreign surrogate (via her egg), can apply for a US passport and Consular Report of Birth Abroad. While the USC parent with the biological nexus should be listed on the CRBA, a second parent can be listed as well if they can document a legal relationship under local law.

It should be noted that this new policy is retroactive. In those instances where an immigration benefit was denied to the foreign-born child of a gestational and legal American mother, the parent should now submit a new application corroborated by probative evidence that they satisfy the substantive requirements of the new policy.

The nationality provisions of the INA were written long before the advent of ART. The State Department is to be heartily congratulated for bringing them into the 21st century. While a genetic footprint will still be necessary for children born out of wedlock to American fathers under INA 309, it will no longer be required for citizenship claims in all other cases arising under INA 301 which is silent on the need for genetic parentage. The willingness and ability to understand parentage in the legal and gestational sense, as well as in the genetic sense, is something for which advocates have long contended. It is precisely what a consistent line of Ninth Circuit case law, which did not deal with ART, has long exemplified. See Scales v. INS, 232 F.3d 1159 (2000); Solis-Espinoza v. Gonzales, 401 F. 3d 1090 (9th Cir. 2005) and, most recently, Gonzalez-Marquez v. Holder, http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/memoranda/2014/01/03/12-71861.pdf. In these cases, so long as a child was not born out of wedlock, or if born out of wedlock was subsequently legitimated,  the child did not need to prove that he or she was the biological child of his USC mother in order to acquire citizenship.  The Department of State, by allowing the transmission of citizenship through a gestational mother, has advanced the concept of family unity which is the organizing principle at the heart of our immigration system:
Public policy supports recognition and maintenance of a family unit. The Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) was intended to keep families together. It should be construed in favor of family units and the acceptance of responsibility by family members. See, e.g., Kaliski v. Dist. Dir. of INS, 620 F.2d 214, 217 (9th Cir.1980) (discussing the “humane purpose” of the INA and noting that a “strict interpretation” of the Act, including an “arbitrary distinction” between legitimate and illegitimate children, would “detract from … the purpose of the Act which is to prevent continued separation of families.”); H.R.Rep. No. 85-1199, pt. 2 (1957), reprinted in 1957 U.S.C.C.A.N.2016, 2020 (observing that the “legislative history of the Immigration and Nationality Act clearly indicates that Congress intended to provide for a liberal treatment of children and was concerned with the problem of keeping families of United States citizens and immigrants united).
Solis-Espinoza, supra, at 1094.

For all of its manifest merits, however, this new policy does not go as far it we would like it to go. If there is no biological link, but the US citizen is still considered as the legal mother under local or foreign law, will the claim to citizenship be accepted?  It does not seem so, unless the mother was the genetic or gestational mother. It is certainly true that, if the mother is neither the genetic nor the gestational mother, but the sperm is that of the US citizen father, US citizenship can still be acquired under the out of wedlock provisions pursuant to INA 309. Yet, what if the father is a lawful permanent resident or perhaps a non-immigrant, while the mother is a US citizen who lacks a genetic or gestational relationship with the baby but nonetheless is the mother under the law of the country of birth? Under these slightly altered facts, there is no automatic transmission of citizenship. This should change.  The State Department is to be praised for recognizing that there need be no biological link but should a child be deprived of the priceless gift of citizenship simply because his or her US citizen mother is unable to bring them to birth due to a medical infirmity? Practically speaking, if the US citizen mother is able to carry the baby, but needs another female’s egg, there would be no reason to leave the USA and the child thus born in the US would be a birthright citizen. It is only when the US citizen mother cannot use her own egg or carry the baby to term that she needs to enter into an arrangement with a surrogate mother overseas. In such an instance, the citizenship of the child should not depend on the sperm donor father being an American citizen. As long as the law of the state or jurisdiction recognizes the US citizen mother as the child’s legal mother who is married to the father, that should be all that matters. Such a policy would be in accord with Scales and Solis-Espinoza.

None of this detracts from the wonderful step that the State Department has made. Let us recognize and rejoice in this advance while we hope for further progress down the road. This is a long journey but the ART update is a milestone along the march. Thanks to the Department of State, the law on citizenship transmission is now far more aligned with modern science and contemporary social mores. No longer is it required that both spouses in a marital union be genetically related to their child as a condition of bring a citizenship claim under INA 301. Legal children born in wedlock now will have the same ability to acquire citizenship at birth as anyone else notwithstanding the continued relevance of genetics. Parents legally bound to each other and to their child under local or foreign law can now apply for a US Passport secure in the knowledge that their baby will not be left stateless. Same sex marriages will now enjoy the presumption of legitimacy for the conferral of citizenship that they have never known.

Not bad.

Authors’ Note: This comment is dedicated to the shining memory of Carmen DiPlacido, author of the Child Citizenship Act. To those who knew the pleasure of his company, the warmth of his friendship, the depth of his wisdom and the strength of his intellect, this is precisely the kind of change that Carmen would have championed, one that reflects equity and inclusiveness. He lived these values and this policy embodies them.

(Guest writer Gary Endelman is the Senior Counsel of FosterQuan. A prior version of this article was published on blog.fosterquan.com on February 10, 2014).