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 Sanchez
Government did not prove loss of citizenship through voting
A United States-born woman testified that she believed she had voted in a 1964 Mexican election. A local official's certificate, however, reported no record of her voting. The Board held that the special inquiry officer had used too demanding a standard of proof for loss of citizenship: the…
Matter of Lavoie
Board upheld deportation under a 1965 exclusion provision
A Canadian permanent resident appealed an order of deportation based on a historical exclusion provision. The Board treated his statements about same-sex experiences and a Public Health Service certification as sufficient under that provision. It held that the government had proved the deportation…
Matter of Kwan
Service motion to reconsider marriage recognition denied
A U.S. citizen petitioned for nonquota immigration status for her husband, whom she married in Venezuela. The Service challenged the marriage because another woman in China claimed an earlier marriage to him and had not been served in a Michigan case affirming the Venezuelan marriage. The Board…
Matter of Stasinski
Wisconsin worthless check convictions did not support deportation
A married couple from Poland faced deportation based on separate convictions for passing worthless checks under a Wisconsin statute. The Service argued that the convictions involved moral turpitude even though the statute did not require intent to defraud. The Board held that a person could be…
Matter of Paulus
Unidentified substance could not support narcotics deportability
The Service sought deportation based on a California conviction for offering to sell a narcotic and delivering another substance in its place. The conviction record did not identify the substance involved. The Board explained that some substances treated as narcotics under California law were not…
Matter of Hassan
Jordanian proxy divorce supported later marriage
A United States citizen petitioned for nonquota visa status for her Jordanian husband. The District Director denied the petition because the record initially did not establish that his previous wife had been notified of a divorce obtained in Jordan through his brother as proxy. On appeal, the…
Matter of Millard
Inquiry officer could grant waivers in exclusion hearing
A Mexican citizen with a nonquota immigrant visa faced exclusion for earlier prostitution, an admitted perjury offense, and concealment of material facts on immigration applications. A special inquiry officer granted discretionary waivers and ordered her admission after finding extreme hardship to…
Matter of Palacio
Amended legitimation judgment supported child's visa petition
A naturalized United States citizen sought nonquota visa status for his son, born in the Philippines outside marriage. The Board had previously dismissed a petition denial without prejudice because the first California judgment did not establish the required form and date of legitimation. An…
Matter of Sias
Ten years in Mexico did not qualify as temporary absence
A Mexican citizen was admitted for permanent residence as a child in 1954, but her father sent her back to Mexico the same day. She lived there for about ten years, apart from short visits to the United States, and later presented her original resident card when seeking admission. The Board held…
Matter of Uy
Economic hardship did not establish extreme hardship
A student born in the Philippines sought suspension of deportation after living in the United States for just over eight years. He had earned physics degrees and said he would face limited job opportunities and difficulty adjusting abroad. The Board held that some economic hardship did not…
Matter of Rubio-Vargas
Adjustment denied after planned visitor entry
A Peruvian citizen married a lawful permanent resident in Peru and then entered the United States as a visitor, intending to remain with her and seek adjustment of status. A special inquiry officer found him legally eligible for adjustment and granted it. The Board agreed on eligibility but held…
Matter of Youssef
Adjustment withdrawn pending scholarship obligation
A student from the United Arab Republic studied in the United States on a government scholarship. His agreement required permission before marrying and obligated him to work for his government or repay scholarship funds. After he married a United States citizen without permission, the special…
Matter of Labiano
Visa petition revocation upheld under Nevada marriage law
A naturalized U.S. citizen sought nonquota status for a woman he married in Nevada. The beneficiary stated that he was her maternal uncle. The district director revoked approval of the visa petition because Nevada law prohibited their marriage and treated it as void. The Board held that the…
Matter of Soo Hoo
Claimed adoption failed Chinese law's age and writing rules
A naturalized U.S. citizen petitioned for quota preference status for a man she said she adopted in China in 1938. The district director denied the petition because she had not established a written adoption as required by Chinese law. The Board found that she offered no adoption document or…
Matter of Palacio
Later legitimation did not establish child status
A naturalized U.S. citizen sought nonquota visa status for his son, born in the Philippines in 1944. A California court entered a judgment declaring him the son's legitimate father in 1964, after the son turned 18. The Board held that the judgment did not meet the Immigration and Nationality Act's…
Matter of Wong
Two hour Mexico trip and suspension of deportation
A man from China entered the United States in 1951 by falsely claiming citizenship and later sought suspension of deportation. He had otherwise lived in the country for more than seven years but had made a two hour visit to Mexico. The Board held that the visit broke the continuous physical…
Matter of Kolk
False citizenship claim made brief return an entry
A lawful permanent resident twice spent four or five hours in Mexico and returned to the United States by falsely claiming U.S. citizenship instead of undergoing inspection as an alien. He had been found deportable for entering without inspection. After the Supreme Court held that an innocent…
Matter of Dagamac
Mexican mail order divorce did not establish a valid remarriage
A naturalized U.S. citizen sought nonquota visa status for a woman he married in the Philippines after obtaining a Mexican divorce from his first wife by mail. Neither he nor his first wife had lived in Mexico, and neither appeared there for the divorce. The Board found that the divorce was not…
Matter of Liao
Deportation relief denied after military training
A Chinese Nationalist Air Force captain entered the United States for military training in 1954, then resigned and remained after his unit returned to Formosa. He conceded deportability but sought suspension of deportation based on extreme hardship and withholding because he feared persecution. The…
Matter of Aircraft No. N-2476-U
Pilot's inspection fine cut to $25
A pilot returned from a business trip to Mexico with one passenger and left the aircraft without presenting either person for immigration inspection. He remembered the requirement while at a restaurant and returned to the airport that afternoon to report the lapse. The District Director imposed a…
Matter of Avalos Zavala
Concealed family facts were material to visa application
A man from Peru obtained an immigrant visa after representing that he had no wife or children, although he was married and had four children. He was also seeking to marry his cousin after a pending divorce. A special inquiry officer terminated deportation proceedings after finding that the false…
Matter of Psalidas
Father's denaturalization defeated son's citizenship claim
A man born in Greece claimed U.S. citizenship through his father, who had been naturalized before the man's birth. A federal court had cancelled the father's citizenship in 1940 after finding that he took permanent residence abroad within five years of naturalization. The son argued that the…
Matter of Gayo-Gayo
Deportation finding upheld on one charge
A Spanish citizen entered the United States using a visa issued after his marriage to a U.S. citizen. An immigration officer found the marriage was entered only to secure his admission and sustained a deportation charge based on his ineligibility for that visa. The Board upheld that finding because…
Matter of Kinj
Parent of a minor citizen denied visa preference
A Lebanese citizen remained in the United States after his student admission and a later voluntary departure deadline expired. He sought adjustment of status, arguing that his legal relationship to a young U.S. citizen child qualified him for a second preference immigrant visa. The Board assumed…
Matter of Lee
Four years in China broke continuous U.S. residence
A Chinese citizen sought a record of lawful admission under section 249, which required continuous U.S. residence since before June 28, 1940. He had lived in China from 1947 to 1951, initially to visit his ill wife. After her death, he remarried, entered business there, and kept no home, property…
Matter of Young
Temporary voluntary departure preserved residence
A Chinese citizen sought adjustment of status under a provision requiring continuous U.S. residence since before June 28, 1940. The Service argued that his voluntary departure in 1947, after deportation proceedings began, broke that continuity. He had kept his U.S. living quarters and much of his…
Matter of Caudillo-Villalobos
Court reporting trips counted as entries
A lawful permanent resident repeatedly traveled to Mexico to report to a court after his arrest and conviction there for incest. An immigration officer had ended deportation proceedings after treating the short trips as falling under the rule for innocent, casual, and brief travel in Rosenberg v…
Matter of Russo
Italian election voting defeated daughter's visa preference
A woman born in the United States sought a visa preference for her married daughter, an Italian national. The District Director denied the petition because the woman had voted in Italian elections, which the Board found had caused her to lose U.S. citizenship under the law then in force. She said…
Matter of O'Gorman
Two check forgeries were not a single scheme
The Board reviewed a deportation order against a Scottish citizen convicted of petty larceny and attempted second-degree grand larceny. He argued that the convictions arose from one scheme because he made the two checks on the same evening. The Board rejected that argument because the checks…
Matter of Lum
Natural mother's visa petition restored
A naturalized citizen sought a second preference immigrant visa for her natural mother. She had been adopted in China as an infant, but entered the United States as the wife of a U.S. citizen and had received no immigration benefit through the adoption. The District Director revoked her petition…
Matter of Petuoglu
District Director waived foreign residence requirement
Doctor Stepan Petuoglu, a Turkish physician, entered the United States for medical training as an exchange visitor. He and his U.S. citizen wife later moved to Canada intending to meet the two-year foreign residence requirement, but were told that the Canadian residence did not satisfy it. A prior…
Matter of Jacobson
Brief Mexico visit interrupted required presence
A man who had been deported in 1937 returned to the United States without inspection in 1953. He spent four or five hours in Mexico in 1959, then reentered. The Board held that this trip interrupted the seven years of continuous physical presence then required for suspension of deportation. It…
Matter of Ikemiya
Exchange visitor waiver allowed worker status change
A Japanese exchange visitor sought to change his status to temporary worker after the Department of Agriculture obtained approval of a worker petition for him. The Department of State had recommended, and he had received, a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement for exchange visitors…
Matter of Loza-Bedoya
Deportation interrupted required presence
A Mexican citizen who had entered the United States without inspection sought relief from deportation based on his long residence and the hardship removal would cause his family. He argued that an old immigration law's seventh proviso could be applied retroactively to make his residence lawful. The…
Matter of Dun-Rite Kitchen Cabinet, Corp.
Cabinetmaker preference petition denied
Dun-Rite Kitchen Cabinet sought first preference immigration status for Francesco Coscia as a cabinetmaker. The job clearance order required at least three years of experience making custom cabinets with both hand and machine tools. The company submitted statements from two prior employers, but the…
Matter of Haddad
Student status change denied for lack of support
A Chilean citizen admitted as a visitor asked to change to student status to study English and electronics in New York. He later enrolled in dental technology instead and stopped attending after a short time. His father said he would send $150 to $200 monthly, but the Regional Commissioner found…
Matter of Jensen
One forged check counted as one crime under youth exception
A Canadian applicant sought admission for permanent residence after a conviction for forging and using a $20 check when he was 16. The special inquiry officer admitted him under the then-applicable exception for a single crime involving moral turpitude committed before age 18 and more than five…
Matter of The
Acknowledgment did not establish stepmother relationship
A naturalized United States citizen petitioned for an immigrant visa preference for the woman her father had married when she was a child. The District Director denied the petition because the claimed stepmother relationship did not meet the immigration law's definition. On appeal, the Board…
Matter of Martinez-Torres
Permission to reapply for admission denied
A Mexican citizen appealed the denial of his request for permission to reapply for admission after deportation. He had been convicted under a federal law concerning marijuana and had been deported in 1962. The Regional Commissioner found that the conviction made him mandatorily inadmissible under…
Matter of Alberga
Sample stitcher experience not established
A women's clothing manufacturer sought first preference quota status for a Jamaican dressmaker as a sample stitcher. The clearance order required five years of experience across the tasks of that position. The beneficiary had studied dressmaking in New York and completed a year of practical…
Matter of Prieto-Perez
Property claim prompted further citizenship inquiry
A man born in the United States was also a Mexican citizen and lived in Mexico while working in the United States. An immigration officer found him excludable after concluding that he had lost United States citizenship by obtaining land in a Mexican border zone limited to Mexican nationals. The…
Matter of Azmitia
Visitor visa intent weighed against adjustment
A Guatemalan man, his wife, and their minor child entered the United States as visitors and later applied for permanent residence. The adults told immigration officials that they had intended to settle in the United States when they applied for visitor visas. The Acting Regional Commissioner found…
Matter of Beato
Deportability upheld, hearing reopened for adjustment application
A lawful permanent resident was convicted of attempted second-degree assault after pleading guilty in satisfaction of a New York indictment. The Board agreed with the special inquiry officer that the conviction involved moral turpitude because the pertinent indictment count charged assault with…
Matter of M/V Hellenic Leader
Fine withdrawn because owner lacked notice
Immigration officers revoked a crewman's landing permit and returned him to the M/V Hellenic Leader, but he later left the ship. The District Director imposed a $1,000 fine on the ship's owner for failing to detain and deport him. The Board held that, once a landing permit had been issued, the duty…
Matter of Garcia-Castillo
Visa misrepresentation weighed against adjustment
A Peruvian citizen obtained a visitor visa with a doctor's letter saying he was coming to the United States for treatment, although he was not ill and intended to seek permanent residence. A special inquiry officer granted adjustment of status, but the Board reversed that discretionary grant. On…
Matter of Rocha
Passport error did not establish citizenship
A woman born in Portugal entered the United States with a U.S. passport issued after she disclosed her family history to a consular official. In deportation proceedings, she argued that she was a U.S. citizen through her mother and had relied in good faith on the passport. The Board found that her…
Matter of Ngan
Sworn false statements barred suspension of deportation
A man who entered the United States claiming citizenship later acknowledged that he had used another person's identity and was deportable. He sought suspension of deportation, which required good moral character during the relevant period. The Board reconsidered its earlier grant of relief and held…
Matter of Hirabayashi
Colorado marriage recognized for visa petition
A United States citizen petitioned for nonquota immigrant status for his wife, a Japanese citizen and his first cousin. They lived in Illinois, where first cousin marriages were prohibited, but married in Colorado, where their marriage was permitted. After an earlier remand, the Board considered…
Matter of Gaglioti
Gambling conspiracy did not involve moral turpitude
The government appealed an order terminating deportation proceedings against a man convicted of conspiracy to establish gambling games in Pennsylvania. The Board held that the gambling offenses underlying the conspiracy did not ordinarily involve moral turpitude. Under the rule it applied, a…
Matter of Toth
Regional Commissioner granted defector classification
A Hungarian native who had become a Canadian citizen sought defector classification so he could pursue permanent residence in the United States. He acknowledged membership in Hungary's Communist Party from 1948 to 1956, including while serving as an army captain. He testified that he helped…
Matter of Gupta
Expired employer petition defeated nonquota eligibility
A research chemist from India sought permanent resident status based on a first preference visa petition from his former employer. That petition had expired before the October 24, 1962 enactment of a law granting certain first preference beneficiaries nonquota status. His new employer's petition…
Matter of Sweed
Approved marriage petition did not require adjustment of status
A Jordanian visitor sought adjustment to permanent resident status after marrying a U.S. citizen. The District Director approved his second wife's petition for nonquota immigration status, but the special inquiry officer doubted that his marriages were genuine and denied adjustment as a matter of…
Matter of Pisciotta
Withdrawn first petition did not bar a new spouse petition
A U.S. citizen petitioned for nonquota immigration status for her husband. His first wife's petition had been approved, then withdrawn and revoked, and his application for permanent resident status was denied. An immigration officer denied the new petition because he believed the earlier approval…
Matter of Bagai
Ten-year period began with first deportable act
A man found deportable after an unlawful reentry in 1952 and a missed address report in 1955 sought suspension of deportation. The special inquiry officer granted his application using the first deportable act to start the required ten-year period, then certified the case because a Board precedent…
Matter of Acosta
Police service requiring an oath led to exclusion
A man naturalized as a U.S. citizen later served in the Cuban National Police and returned to the United States as a Cuban refugee. A special inquiry officer ordered him admitted as a citizen, but the government appealed. Applying the expatriation statute then in force, the Board held that the…
Matter of Sinha
Minister classification petition denied
The Vedic Society of America petitioned to classify its founder as a nonquota immigrant minister under the law then in effect. The Regional Commissioner found that the society had fewer than twenty members, did not require them to leave other denominations, and lacked prescribed standards for…
Matter of Bailie
Kansas bad-check conviction lacked required fraud intent
A permanent resident was ordered deported after convictions for selling mortgaged property and drawing a check with insufficient funds. Deportation on the charged ground required two convictions for crimes involving moral turpitude. The Board held that the Kansas check offense did not require an…
Matter of Moorman
U.S. birthplace allowed adjustment despite Canadian quota treatment
The applicant was born in Kansas, later lived in Canada, and lost her U.S. citizenship by voting in a Canadian election. She entered the United States as a student and applied to adjust to permanent resident status. The District Director explained that the statute treated her as born in Canada for…
Matter of Barnes
Waiver denied while bond remained in force
Vernon Michael Barnes applied for a waiver of excludability so he could join his parents, who were lawful permanent residents in the United States. He had been convicted in Barbados after taking money from a bank and was serving a three-year good-behavior bond. The decision found that his parents…
Matter of Del Conte
Petitions approved for twin sisters
A U.S. citizen couple petitioned for two young sisters from Italy to come to the United States for adoption. The District Director found that the sisters qualified as eligible orphans under the law then in effect because their mother could not care for them, her husband refused to support them, 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.