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 Fong
Drug use conviction supported deportation order
A special inquiry officer ordered a Chinese national deported after a Pennsylvania conviction for unlawful drug use. He argued that a conviction for use did not establish illicit possession under the deportation statute. The Board held that unlawful use necessarily involved possession and that…
Matter of Poindexter Gallery
Urgent need for artist not shown
Poindexter Gallery petitioned for an artist from Japan, proposing to act as her agent and sell her paintings on commission. The Regional Commissioner acknowledged her talent but found no urgent need for her services under the law then in effect. She had not earned her living from painting sales…
Matter of Tamura
Chief cook qualified for treaty investor employee status
A Japanese chief cook at a New York restaurant applied to change his nonimmigrant status to that of an employee of a treaty investor. The District Director denied the application because the cook had no financial interest in the restaurant. The Regional Commissioner found that the regulation also…
Matter of Alvarez-Mujioa
Farmworker waivers did not cover later immigrant entry
A Mexican national was deported after entering without inspection, then returned as a contracted agricultural laborer in 1958 and 1959. He argued that the permission accompanying those laborer entries also authorized his 1961 entry as an immigrant. The Board held that the regulation then in force…
Matter of Guja
Trainee change of status denied without approved petition
A Philippine student sought to change to industrial trainee status after practical training at a cancer research institute. The institute filed a petition for that status, but the proposed program would have been employment in its continuing research activities. The Regional Commissioner held that…
Matter of Megalogenis
Pennsylvania marriage valid without cohabitation
A U.S. citizen petitioned for nonquota classification for her Greek husband after they signed a marriage contract aboard a ship in Pennsylvania. The District Director denied the petition, questioning the marriage because the couple had not cohabited. The Board applied Pennsylvania common law and…
Matter of Wolfe
Iranian student adjustment denied pending repayment arrangements
An Iranian student sought adjustment to permanent resident status after marrying a U.S. citizen. Iran had financed her education in the United States in exchange for a commitment to return and work for its government. The Department of State said granting adjustment without a return plan or…
Matter of M/S "Berlin"
Crewmen at gangway had not landed for fine purposes
Four crewmen from the M/S "Berlin" stepped onto a New York pier before immigration inspection to help passengers leave the ship. The District Director imposed fines on the carrier for failing to keep them aboard, then reduced the total to $800. The Board found that the crewmen stayed at the foot of…
Matter of Perez
Former Dominican intelligence employee denied withholding
Two Dominican nationals sought withholding of deportation after overstaying their authorized admission. The husband's claim rested on about six months of employment in a minor role with the former Dominican military intelligence service; his wife's claim depended on his. The Board held that he had…
Matter of Lau
Claimed adoption failed Chinese law requirements
A naturalized U.S. citizen petitioned for a preference visa for a man he called his adopted son. The petitioner's mother had taken the child into her household in China while the petitioner was abroad, without his knowledge. The Board credited the petitioner's account that he learned of the…
Matter of Adamo
Italian embezzlement conviction barred adjustment
An Italian national received permanent resident status after entering as a visitor. The Service later sought rescission based on an Italian conviction for aggravated embezzlement involving accordions entrusted to him in the United States. The Board held that the conviction involved moral turpitude…
Matter of Vardjan
Board upheld denial of deportation withholding
The respondent, a Yugoslav national of German descent, sought withholding of deportation because she feared physical persecution if returned to Yugoslavia. The Board upheld the special inquiry officer's denial under the 1964 version of section 243(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It found…
Matter of Boireau
Crewman allowed to reapply after deportation
A Haitian crewman sought permission to reapply for admission after his deportation. The District Director denied the application because the crewman had refused to return to Haiti and had not shown a legal domicile elsewhere. The Acting Regional Commissioner found that the applicant had sailed to…
Matter of Schonfeld
Reentry permits denied after prolonged residence abroad
A mother and son admitted as permanent residents in 1960 repeatedly obtained reentry permits while living in Venezuela. They sought new permits after returning to the United States in 1964, explaining that liquidating the family's printing business then would cause a large financial loss. The…
Matter of Schaad
Stepfather petition denied after marriage occurred when petitioner was 28
A naturalized U.S. citizen petitioned for second preference visa status for the man her mother married in Hungary. Her mother and the man had lived together since 1944, when the petitioner was 13, but did not marry until 1960, when she was 28. The Board found that Hungarian law gave cohabitants…
Matter of Barreiros
Residence adjustment rescinded after marriage finding
A Portuguese national obtained permanent resident status after marrying a United States citizen. The government later alleged that the marriage existed only to obtain that adjustment. The Board held that in a rescission proceeding the government must prove ineligibility by a preponderance of…
Matter of Kinney
Appeal dismissed because the Connecticut offense lacked intent to defraud
A Canadian permanent resident had 1957 breaking and entering and larceny convictions and a 1958 Connecticut conviction for obtaining goods through a false written financial statement. The government appealed a finding that he was not deportable for two crimes involving moral turpitude after entry…
Matter of Cortez-Vasquez
Daily firewood purchases qualify as business visits
A Mexican national crossed the border about four days a week to buy and collect firewood from Texas ranches, then returned home the same day to sell it in Mexico. A special inquiry officer concluded that the ongoing work made him an immigrant who needed an immigrant visa. The Board reversed. It…
Matter of Abi-Rached
Deportation order upheld after voluntary manslaughter conviction
A lawful permanent resident returned to the United States after a monthlong visit to Mexico in 1961. He was later convicted in Illinois of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to at least one year in prison. The Board held that the conviction involved moral turpitude and that it could not retry the…
Matter of Guimaraes
Monthlong Portugal visit did not warrant reopening exclusion case
A Portuguese permanent resident had been excluded after returning from a monthlong visit to his parents in Portugal. He sought to reopen his case after the Supreme Court's decision in Rosenberg v. Fleuti , arguing that he had not intended to disrupt his United States residence. The Board held that…
Matter of Kelly
California expungement did not prevent deportation finding
A British permanent resident pleaded guilty in California to selling and giving away marijuana. The court imposed probation with a six-month jail condition, then expunged the conviction under California law. The Board held that the conviction remained sufficient for deportation under the federal…
Matter of Scherbank
Overnight Canada trip counted as an entry for exclusion
A Canadian permanent resident returned from an overnight trip to Canada for a court appearance tied to gambling charges. The Board held that the trip counted as an entry because its purpose was linked to conduct it found contrary to immigration policy, distinguishing the brief visit in Rosenberg v…
Matter of Garvey
Unauthorized work violated a student's immigration status
A Jamaican national changed from visitor to nonimmigrant student status and attended a dress design school. She also worked as a domestic employee without asking the immigration service for permission. The Board held that pursuing a full course of study did not excuse the employment condition…
Matter of Faruque
Pakistani divorce recognized for an English marriage
A U.S. citizen sought nonquota visa status for her Pakistani husband after they married in England. An earlier marriage ceremony in Illinois had not established a valid marriage because his attempted divorce while living there did not comply with Illinois law. He later followed the divorce…
Matter of Graham
Board finds citizenship lost under the law governing foreign voting
A man born in the United States had lived in Canada since infancy. He voted in Canadian political elections between 1944 and 1948 after a Canadian immigration officer incorrectly told him he had lost his United States citizenship. The Board held that his voluntary foreign voting caused expatriation…
Matter of Paparo
Reentry permit application filed after departure was denied
An Italian permanent resident applied for a reentry permit after returning to Italy. His application was sworn in Naples and reached the Miami district director after he had left the United States. The Acting Regional Commissioner held that section 223 and the application instructions required…
Matter of Garcia-Castillo
Board reversed a discretionary adjustment grant
A Peruvian visitor overstayed his authorized visit and applied to become a permanent resident. The special inquiry officer found him deportable but granted adjustment of status. The Board found that he had entered intending to seek permanent residence, used a doctor's letter to obtain a visitor…
Matter of Buckland
Visitor's request for student status denied
A Jamaican visitor applied to change to student status for a fashion design course with twelve class hours each week. The District Director doubted that she was a full-time student and concluded she sought to prolong her stay. On appeal, the Regional Commissioner examined her lack of disclosed…
Matter of Wong
Brief Canada visits broke the required period of presence
A Chinese national conceded that he entered the United States by falsely claiming citizenship and was deportable. He sought suspension of deportation based on his years in the country and nearly two years of Army service. The Board held that his military service fell 20 days short of the 24 months…
Matter of Esposito
Unlawful entry barred a reentry permit
An Italian citizen sought a reentry permit after leaving the United States to join his wife in Italy. His own statements and a port document showed that he had entered unlawfully as a deserting crewman and had lived in the United States without lawful status. The Regional Commissioner held that a…
Matter of Chen
Indeterminate sentence supported another deportation charge
A visitor from Hong Kong was convicted of grand theft in California and received an indeterminate prison sentence. A special inquiry officer ordered deportation for failure to maintain visitor status but did not sustain the separate charge based on a crime involving moral turpitude and a sentence…
Matter of Ornhauser
Indeterminate sentence met the one-year threshold
A British national admitted as a temporary visitor overstayed her authorized visit and was convicted in California of issuing a check without sufficient funds with intent to defraud. The special inquiry officer ordered deportation for the overstay but did not sustain the conviction charge. The…
Matter of Fong
Adopted brother qualified for a preference visa
A naturalized United States citizen petitioned for a preference visa for her adopted brother. The district director denied the petition under an earlier Board decision that excluded siblings by adoption from the preference category. The Board held that the 1957 amendment recognizing qualifying…
Matter of Diaz-Villamil
Evasive testimony defeated adjustment request
A Colombian visitor overstayed his authorized visit and asked to adjust to permanent resident status. The special inquiry officer found him eligible to apply but denied adjustment as a matter of discretion, while allowing voluntary departure. The Board found his testimony about his plans…
Matter of Miyazaki Travel Agency, Inc.
Experienced travel agent did not qualify as an industrial trainee
Miyazaki Travel Agency petitioned to bring a worker from Japan to New York for travel-agent training before the 1964 World's Fair. The worker had already spent three or four years employed as a travel agent. The agency proposed a 50-week training schedule and said he would later work in its Tokyo…
Matter of Lewis
Prior illegal entries warranted denial of permission to reapply
A British Honduran citizen sought permission to apply again for admission as a visitor after two deportations. He had twice tried to enter by claiming U.S. citizenship and had been convicted for unlawful entry and attempted entry after deportation. The Acting Regional Commissioner agreed that this…
Matter of Cunney
Voting in Ireland ended the mother's U.S. citizenship
A woman born in Ireland sought a certificate of U.S. citizenship through her mother, who had been naturalized in the United States before the applicant's birth. The mother had later returned to Ireland and acquired Irish citizenship by operation of Irish law. The District Director reasoned that…
Matter of Ko
Small beauty shop failed to show urgent need for another operator
A Texas beauty shop petitioned for first preference immigrant classification for a beauty operator living in Taiwan. The shop already employed one full-time operator, while its owner and his wife were licensed and available when needed. It averaged six customers a day in a town of about 2,000…
Matter of Edwards
Brief Canada visit did not bar discretionary relief
A longtime permanent resident faced deportation after two convictions for crimes involving moral turpitude. The Board rejected the special inquiry officer's use of registry under section 249, but exercised discretion under section 212(c) to end the proceedings. The immigration service sought…
Matter of Karl
Ten-day Mexico trip and false citizenship claim counted as an entry
A Hungarian lawful permanent resident returned from a trip to Mexico after falsely claiming U.S. citizenship at the border. After a later conviction, the government charged him with deportability based on a crime committed within five years after entry. The special inquiry officer terminated the…
Matter of Paraskos
Advance waiver was unnecessary after suspension
A Turkish national had received suspension of deportation after an earlier request for exemption from United States military service was disclosed in his proceedings. Congress approved the suspension in 1959, and a record of permanent residence was created. Before a temporary business trip abroad…
Matter of Sanchez-Monreal
Home purchase did not establish loss of U.S. citizenship
The applicant was born in Texas to Mexican parents and held both U.S. and Mexican nationality. An immigration officer ordered him excluded after concluding that his purchase and continued ownership of a home in Mexico had cost him U.S. citizenship. The Board found no evidence that he identified…
Matter of Chow
Board upheld deportation country designation
A Chinese crewman overstayed his permitted time in the United States. After he failed to depart voluntarily, officials planned to deport him to the Netherlands because the Republic of China on Formosa would not accept him. He asked to reopen proceedings so that Hong Kong would replace the…
Matter of Gonzalez-Hernandez
Board found Cuban army service caused loss of citizenship
A naturalized U.S. citizen worked with the Cuban armed forces after returning to Cuba in 1959. The special inquiry officer terminated deportation proceedings, finding that he remained a U.S. citizen when he reentered the United States in 1961. The Board found that his uniform, pay, authority over…
Matter of Rodriguez
Fear of unrest did not establish physical persecution
A British Guiana native remained in the United States after her student admission expired. She sought temporary withholding of deportation to British Guiana, saying that her political affiliation, racial origin, and Roman Catholic faith put her at risk. The Board found no record evidence that the…
Matter of Tinsley
Board upheld revocation of a child's visa petition
A U.S. citizen petitioned for his son, born in the Philippines, to receive nonquota immigration status. The district director first approved the petition, then revoked approval after learning that the petitioner was legally married to a different woman when the child was born. The petitioner argued…
Matter of Iqal
Prior exclusion and deportation barred advance waiver
A former lawful permanent resident sought advance permission to return to the United States after he had been excluded in 1957 and returned to Jordan. The district director denied his section 212(c) application on the ground that he had abandoned his U.S. domicile by letting a reentry permit…
Matter of Contopoulos
Continuing household work was not temporary labor
A California family petitioned to employ a woman from Greece as a governess and mother's helper for about two years. Their employment clearance described the opening as permanent, although the family expected her to return to Greece and the youngest child to enter school. The Acting Regional…
Matter of Okamoto
Training differed from approved trainee petition
A Japanese national changed his visitor status to industrial trainee status and received approval to train at a company described as manufacturing automotive transmission parts. The company actually grouped, trimmed, and packaged purchased parts, so it could not provide the manufacturing training…
Matter of Hwang
Board found no extreme hardship for suspension
A Chinese national entered the United States as a student in 1955 and stayed beyond his authorized period. He sought suspension of deportation, arguing that return to Formosa would interrupt his education and limit his job prospects because he lacked a degree, trade skill, and recent use of…
Matter of Agoudemos
Voidable marriage supported a visa petition
A United States citizen sought nonquota status for her Greek husband. They had married in Indiana when she was 15, below the state's minimum marriage age, and the district director denied the petition on that basis. The Board held that the marriage was voidable under Indiana and Wisconsin law…
Matter of Yee
Visa petitions revoked amid doubts about identity
A petitioner sought nonquota visas for two children he claimed were his son and daughter. Consular investigators in Hong Kong reported that the children's surname and the petitioner's identity differed from those claimed in the petitions. The petitioner argued that his citizenship certificate…
Matter of Lee
Researcher retained nonquota eligibility after changing universities
A university filed a first preference petition for research biochemist Dr. Ya-Pin Lee before April 1962. A later statute gave qualifying petition beneficiaries nonquota immigrant status, and Lee and his family applied to adjust to permanent residence while he still held that job. Processing delays…
Matter of Franklin Pierce College
New college lacked proof needed for foreign student approval
Franklin Pierce College sought approval to enroll nonimmigrant students shortly after opening in New Hampshire. It offered freshman courses but had no library of its own. The Regional Commissioner found inadequate evidence of suitable facilities, transferability of its credits, local educational…
Matter of Davis
Transit admission barred adjustment of status
A Philippine citizen was admitted to transit through the United States without a visa on her way to Mexico. She stayed, married a United States citizen, and sought adjustment to permanent resident status. The Board held that the regulation in effect when she entered barred a person admitted for…
Matter of Eusaph
Board upheld denial of deportation withholding
A crewman who had overstayed his admission sought temporary withholding of deportation to India. He said that, as a Pakistani Muslim, he feared persecution there because of the Kashmir dispute, past assaults, and possible difficulty earning a living. The Board upheld the denial under the physical…
Matter of University of California Medical Center
Permanent research job did not qualify for temporary visa
The University of California, San Francisco Medical Center sought to hire an Egyptian biochemist for a research position. It had already obtained approval of an immigrant first preference petition for the same job, but a quota number was unavailable. The Regional Commissioner found that the…
Matter of T—E—C
Orphan petition denied for unmet adoption safeguards
A U.S. citizen petitioned to bring a child to New York for adoption. The Regional Commissioner found that the petition lacked the preadoption certificate or approved agency recommendation required by New York law. He also found that the petitioner and her spouse had not shown they could properly…
Matter of Quintero-Correa
Workaway passenger granted adjustment of status
A Colombian visitor traveled to the United States on a freighter, paying part of his fare by serving meals and washing dishes. An immigration officer admitted him as a temporary visitor, but he remained beyond his authorized stay. The special inquiry officer allowed voluntary departure and denied…
Matter of Martinez-Lopez
Spurious employment offer was not a material misrepresentation
Saturnino Martinez-Lopez, a Mexican citizen, obtained an immigrant visa using an employment offer that was only for the record and carried a forged signature, although he did not know the signature was forged. He was convicted of conspiring to violate 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and the Immigration 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.