Federal Agency Decisions
Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB), each with a plain-English summary, the law it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Matter of Fernandez
Exclusion sustained on one ground after concurrent sentences counted correctly
A Cuban permanent resident was charged with two grounds of exclusion after Mexican authorities deported him to the United States and he was paroled in. The Board held that his federal conviction for transporting forged securities was a crime involving moral turpitude, sustaining exclusion under…
Matter of Wong
Family visas did not confer lawful residence without principal immigrant
A woman and her two minor children entered the United States on immigrant visas issued to family members accompanying or following a husband and father with a fourth-preference visa. He never entered the United States, so the Board held that their visas did not entitle them to admission or confer…
Matter of Taheri
Refugee classification denied for lack of flight from Iran
An Iranian student who came to the United States in 1964 sought refugee classification under the former seventh-preference provision after participating in protests against Iran's government. The Regional Commissioner found that Taheri had left Iran for education, and that his later conduct did not…
McCloskey & Company
Contest dismissed for missing service certification
The Commission dismissed McCloskey's contest because the company did not certify service of the contest on other parties as required by Commission rules. The citation and proposed penalties were affirmed in full. Commissioner Van Namee dissented because the compliance warning had been sent to the…
Matter of Purewal
Sibling visa petition denied after invalid adoption
A naturalized United States citizen petitioned for her claimed brother to receive a visa based on a 1957 adoption by her father in India. The Board found that the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act applied because the family was Sikh. The father already had three living sons when the adoption was…
Matter of Outin
Repeated voyages did not break a crewman's continuous residence
A crewman entered the United States in 1947 and later made about 53 round-trip voyages on foreign-registered ships, signing on and off at U.S. ports. After his 1952 entry, he overstayed shore leave and was ordered deported, but his proceedings were later reopened. The Service argued that his…
Matter of Souza
Fiancee visa petition denied before divorce became final
A United States citizen petitioned for his Portuguese fiancee to enter the country so they could marry. She had obtained a Massachusetts divorce decree, but its six-month waiting period had not expired when he filed the petition. The petitioner argued that the divorce would become final in time for…
Matter of Athanasopoulos
Sham marriage supported rescission of resident status
A Greek national obtained permanent resident status through an adjustment based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. His former wife and the person who arranged the marriage testified that it was arranged solely for immigration purposes, included payment to the wife, and involved no plan to live…
Matter of Wong
Crewman's deportability upheld with voluntary departure allowed
A crewman was charged with remaining in the United States beyond the period allowed by his admission. He sought to suppress documents on the ground that officers had taken them after an unlawful arrest, but his motion gave no specific supporting facts or identified property. The Board held that a…
Matter of A—
Michigan probate marriage supported spouse visa petition
A permanent resident petitioned for second preference classification for her spouse. The District Director denied the petition because she had married before turning 15, below Michigan's ordinary age of consent for marriage. The Board found that a Michigan exception allowed a probate judge to…
Matter of Iregbulem
Exchange visitor's residence waiver denied
A Nigerian exchange visitor sought a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement so she could remain in the United States. She said her support for the Biafran cause during Nigeria's civil war would expose her to persecution if she returned. The Regional Commissioner reviewed the State…
Matter of Cheung
Crewman's deportability upheld with voluntary departure
A crewman who had entered the United States in February 1970 was charged with overstaying his permitted landing. He refused to testify about the charge, and his lawyer argued that officers had obtained evidence through an unlawful arrest and search. The Board relied on an arrival manifest, a…
Matter of Northwest Airlines Aircraft, Flight Number 4
Carrier remained liable after passenger absconded
An airline brought a passenger to Seattle with an altered passport. After he withdrew his application for admission, immigration officials returned him to the airline's custody and directed the airline to remove him the next day. The airline took him to a hotel without a guard, and he absconded…
Matter of Gantus-Bobadilla
Voluntary departure granted after probation ruling
A Dominican citizen who overstayed a temporary visitor admission was found deportable and denied voluntary departure because he was on probation after a manslaughter conviction. The Board held that probation without incarceration did not, as a matter of law, bar a finding of good moral character…
Matter of Katigbak
Accountant preference required qualifications at filing
A Philippine national sought a third-preference immigrant visa classification as a professional accountant. When she filed the petition, she had a business administration degree and 19 2/3 semester units of accounting credit, short of the 24 units the Service required for an accounting major. Her…
Matter of Harris
Child did not qualify for immediate relative visa
A United States citizen sought an immediate relative visa for the young daughter of her husband, a Liberian citizen. The daughter lived with her natural mother in Liberia and had never lived with the petitioner and her husband. The Board majority held that a Liberian legitimation decree identified…
Matter of Ortega-Mojaro
Entry evidence supported deportability after roadside questioning
An immigration officer questioned a passenger in a car in Los Angeles County about his right to remain in the United States. In deportation proceedings, the passenger admitted he was not a U.S. citizen but declined to give the time, place, or manner of his entry. The Board held that he had not met…
Matter of Senior
Deportability upheld despite fraud waiver claim
A Jamaican citizen obtained an immigrant visa and criminal inadmissibility waivers after claiming to be married to a U.S. citizen. He was still married to his first wife, making the later marriage bigamous. The Board held that the waiver based on hardship to a U.S. citizen spouse was void because…
Matter of Kawasaki
Exchange visitor receives hardship waiver
A Canadian physician working at Washington University sought a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement for exchange visitors. The District Director had denied the request, finding that he had not shown exceptional hardship. The physician's U.S. citizen wife provided essential emotional…
Matter of Eng
Family fraud waiver did not erase narcotics conviction
A man admitted for permanent residence had a prior Hong Kong conviction for unlawful possession of heroin. He challenged the conviction in his deportation case and argued that a family based waiver for entry fraud also excused the conviction. The Board held that a challenge to the conviction had to…
Matter of Marcoux
Deportation proceedings remain terminated after job change
A Canadian worker entered the United States with a labor certification for a trainee weaver job in Maine. After five days, he left because he disliked the working conditions and low pay, then took a fiberglass repair job in Connecticut without a new certification. The special inquiry officer…
Matter of Yaldo
Sham marriage supported rescission of immigration status
An Iraqi student obtained permanent resident status after marrying a U.S. citizen. His wife later testified that he said he had married only to stay in the country, and their marriage was annulled. The Board found her account more credible than his claim that he had left because she was unfaithful…
Matter of King and Fields
Virgin Islands visa waiver did not cover travel to the mainland
Two Trinidadian women entered the Virgin Islands using a visa waiver and traveled to New York the same day. The waiver permitted a temporary stay in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, or agricultural work in the United States. The Board held that it did not authorize the women's immediate travel to…
Matter of Javier
Adjustment denied without labor certification
A Philippine citizen in deportation proceedings sought permanent residence as an airplane mechanic and asked to end the proceedings so he could petition for naturalization based on wartime military service. The Board held that his adjustment application could not be approved because the required…
Matter of Allison
Visa petition approved after Oklahoma recognized divorce
A U.S. citizen petitioned for immediate relative status for his wife, a citizen of the Philippines. The officer in charge revoked the petition's approval because neither party had appeared in the Mexican court that granted the petitioner's earlier divorce. The petitioner presented a decree from an…
Matter of Lavoie
Board upheld deportation under a former exclusion rule
A Canadian permanent resident appealed a deportation order after a court sent his case back for review under a stricter evidence standard. The Board applied the exclusion rule and Supreme Court precedent then in force, which treated homosexuality as a ground for exclusion at entry. It found his…
Matter of Klein
No job opening did not void an immigrant's labor certification
An immigrant entered with a labor certification for an automobile mechanic position at Harbor Motors, but the employer had no opening when he arrived. He later worked for another employer as a mechanic and remained willing to take the certified job if offered. The Board found that he was qualified…
Matter of Shaughnessy
Hardship to the applicant cannot support a section 212(h) waiver
A young permanent resident faced deportation after several Massachusetts criminal convictions. An immigration officer granted him a waiver of criminal inadmissibility and adjusted his status, reasoning that his parents might need his financial support if their health declined. On the Service's…
Matter of Gonzalez de Lara
Suspended sentence did not erase a Texas marijuana conviction
A Mexican immigrant challenged a deportation order based on his Texas marijuana possession conviction. He argued that he acquired citizenship through his United States born mother and that his conviction was not final because the court suspended his sentence and granted probation. The Board found…
Matter of Janus and Janek
Adjustment granted to one respondent and deportation withheld for two
Three Czechoslovak respondents appealed rulings that found them deportable and denied further relief. The Board granted Frantisek Janus permanent resident status, subject to routine processing, because his visitor entry was not a way around the visa process and his family and circumstances favored…
Matter of Anunciacion
Officer could name the Philippines without advance acceptance inquiry
A Filipino exchange visitor remained in the United States after her authorized stay ended. An immigration officer granted voluntary departure and named the Philippines as the destination if deportation became necessary. On appeal, she argued that the officer should first have asked whether the…
Matter of University of California
Visiting geologist petition approved
The University of California petitioned to bring geologist Brian H. Baker to the United States to conduct faculty seminars on the East African rift system. The District Director found that his specialized knowledge and geology work in Kenya met the distinguished merit and ability requirement. He…
Matter of Continental Casualty Company
Maintenance and departure bond canceled
Continental Casualty Company sought cancellation of a $500 maintenance of status and departure bond posted for a nonimmigrant visitor. After her extension request was denied, a private bill was introduced on her behalf before her authorized departure period expired, and a congressional committee…
Matter of Ptasi
Stabbing manslaughter involved moral turpitude
An Italian national appealed a deportation order based on Connecticut convictions for assault with a dangerous weapon and manslaughter by stabbing. The Board held that assault with a dangerous weapon involved moral turpitude under an earlier decision applying the same Connecticut statute. It also…
Matter of Sun
Unsettled petitioner could not offer permanent domestic employment
A petitioner sought sixth preference classification for his mother to work as a live-in domestic worker. The petitioner had an outstanding deportation order, so the Regional Commissioner found that his immigration status was temporary and unsettled. Because the offered household position therefore…
Matter of Ancheta
Medical records librarian role did not qualify as a profession
A petitioner sought third preference classification to work as a medical records librarian. She held a business administration bachelor's degree, an associate degree in medical records, and accreditation as a record technician. The Regional Commissioner found that the occupation's usual entry…
Matter of Galtieri
Former youth party member qualified for defector status
An Italian student who overstayed his authorized period sought defector status and adjustment to permanent residence. He had joined the Italian Communist Youth Federation at age 18, left it in 1953, and later disclosed that membership to a United States consul. The Board held that his offer to…
Matter of Bronx Municipal Hospital Center
Psychiatry residency was productive employment
A hospital and medical college sought industrial trainee classification for a Canadian physician entering a three-year psychiatry residency. The Regional Commissioner found that the residency involved substantial responsibility for patient care and was primarily productive hospital employment. The…
Matter of Abreu-Semino
LSD offenses did not establish moral turpitude under the charged law
A Cuban permanent resident had been convicted of unlawful sale and possession of LSD under federal law. The special inquiry officer terminated the deportation case because the crimes did not involve moral turpitude, and the case reached the Board on certification. The Board read the drug provisions…
Matter of Piedra
Entry on January 1, 1959 did not meet Cuban adjustment cutoff
A Cuban couple and their son applied to adjust their status under the Act of November 2, 1966. They had been inspected and admitted to the United States on January 1, 1959. The Regional Commissioner held that the statute required inspection and admission or parole subsequent to that date. Later…
Matter of Pajarillo
Hawaiian divorce recognized for immigration purposes
A lawful permanent resident of the United States had divorced his first wife in Hawaii and later married the beneficiary in the Philippines. The American vice consul questioned whether the second marriage was valid because Philippine law did not recognize divorce, and the petitioner had described…
Matter of Nassiri
Hardship waiver granted for exchange visitor's family
An Iranian physician who had entered as an exchange visitor sought a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement. He lived in Canada with his United States citizen wife and two children. The Deputy Associate Commissioner found that a move to Iran or a separation would impose exceptional…
Matter of Chong
Foreign residence waiver granted for exceptional hardship
A Malaysian exchange visitor sought a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement after marrying a United States citizen. His wife was studying for a master's degree in English and depended on him for support. The District Director found that requiring her to accompany him to Malaysia…
Matter of Yue
Informal infant adoption established eligibility despite later formal decree
A lawful permanent resident petitioned for his adopted daughter, but the District Director denied the petition because the formal Hong Kong adoption decree was too recent to satisfy the two-year custody requirement. The Board examined the family's evidence of an earlier informal adoption under…
Matter of Cevallos
Municipal offenses without a pardon route did not support deportation
The Service sought to deport three permanent residents based on municipal shoplifting convictions in Florida. Special inquiry officers terminated the proceedings, and the Service sought Board review. The Board found that neither the municipal mayors nor the state Pardon Board could pardon these…
Matter of Wong
False citizenship claim defeated inspection requirement
A Chinese national sought adjustment of status after entering the United States on a false claim of citizenship. The Board held that a person who knowingly claims to be a United States citizen to gain entry has not been “inspected and admitted” as required by section 245. The Board found that the…
Matter of Tayeb
Adjustment denied after Libyan scholarship obligations
A Libyan student who had received a government scholarship sought permanent resident status after deciding not to return to Libya and marrying a United States citizen. The Board found no evidence that Libya accepted his offer to repay the scholarship and considered the State Department's view that…
Matter of Smith
Staffing agency's permanent secretary position qualified for sixth preference
A staffing agency sought sixth preference classification for a secretary it would assign to client firms. Although individual client assignments were temporary, the agency guaranteed the beneficiary full-time work for 52 weeks a year and paid her directly with fringe benefits. The District Director…
Matter of Romano
Live-in maid preference petition denied
A petitioner sought preference immigrant classification for his mother, whom he proposed to employ as a live-in maid. The Regional Commissioner found the evidence insufficient to show that she could perform the required household work and childcare, that the petitioner could pay the certified wage…
Matter of Lugo-Guadiana
Board reverses termination and orders deportation
The Immigration Service appealed a special inquiry officer's termination of deportation proceedings against a respondent who claimed United States birth. The Board considered a Mexican birth certificate, the respondent's prior admissions that he was born in Mexico, and testimony from relatives…
Matter of Wong
Board affirms suspension of deportation
The respondent appealed the denial of his application for a record of lawful admission after a special inquiry officer granted suspension of deportation. The Board held that a 1947 guilty plea to unlawful opium possession remained a conviction for immigration purposes even though a California court…
Matter of Cheung
Visa preference revocation affirmed
A United States citizen sought fifth preference visa classification for a woman he identified as his sister. The District Director revoked conditional approval after conflicting accounts of her parentage and insufficient proof of the claimed sibling relationship. The Board held that the petitioner…
Matter of Lam
Reopening denied
A crewman who overstayed his admission had designated Hong Kong as his destination if deported. After failing to leave under a voluntary departure order, he asked to reopen his case so he could withdraw that designation or seek temporary withholding of deportation to Hong Kong. The Board found that…
Matter of Cruz-Gastelum
Deportation order affirmed
A Mexican citizen, who had lived in the United States since childhood, argued that his admission as a citizen in 1948 should count as lawful permanent residence. The Board found that no record of that admission existed, so the regulatory presumption of lawful admission did not apply. His documented…
Matter of Stevens
Adjustment denied without a current labor certification
A British visitor applied to adjust her status to permanent residence using a labor certification obtained for domestic work with a particular employer. That employer had let her go and sought to withdraw the supporting form. The Board held that the certification was no longer valid and that she…
Matter of Martinez-Monteagudo
Uninspected last entry barred Cuban adjustment
A Cuban applicant sought permanent resident status under the Act of November 2, 1966. Although he had been inspected and admitted as a visitor several times after January 1, 1959, his last entry in 1961 was without inspection. The Regional Commissioner held that the Act required him to be in the…
Matter of Tam
Visa petition denied after late adoption ratification
A United States citizen sought visa preference status for a man he had long believed was his natural son. Blood tests and his wife's account showed that she had taken in the child in China while the petitioner was away. The petitioner first learned this in 1967, when the beneficiary was about 28…
Matter of Ching
Suspension of deportation affirmed
A Chinese crewman was found deportable for entering without an immigration visa and returning within a year of an earlier deportation. The Board considered whether his earlier narcotics convictions required his suspension request to be judged under the more restrictive provision of former…
Matter of West
Fraud waiver rejected, case remanded
A Korean visitor received permanent resident status based on a marriage later found insufficient to support adjustment. After that status was rescinded, she faced deportation for remaining longer than her visitor admission allowed. The special inquiry officer ended the case under a waiver for…
Matter of Boghdadi
Claimed adoption did not establish sibling preference
A United States citizen sought fifth preference classification for his stepbrother, claiming that the petitioner's father had adopted him when he married the beneficiary's mother in Egypt. Family affidavits described the beneficiary as a son in the household, but the claimed marriage contract and…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission, Board and Authority decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Authority at FLRA, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Administrative Review Board at Labor, and the Environmental Appeals Board at EPA). These are citable as precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by the agency's Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official public release from the deciding agency, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.