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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J. R. Steel, Inc., a Subsidiary of American Agencies Co., Inc.
Default affirmed with amended $753 penalty
OSHA issued J. R. Steel serious and non-serious citations with proposed penalties totaling $955. The Secretary later amended the non-serious citation by deleting several items and reduced the total penalty by $202 to $753. The company did not answer the complaint, amended complaint, or the…
Matter of Ng
Adopted daughter's visa petition approved
A lawful permanent resident sought family preference status for a woman whom his wife had adopted in Hong Kong. The District Director denied the petition under an earlier Board decision that treated adoption of a female under the Tsing Code as invalid. The Board distinguished a ritual adoption from…
Matter of Yee
Adopted son's visa petition approval reinstated
A lawful permanent resident petitioned for family preference status for a son adopted in mainland China in 1956. The District Director approved the petition, then revoked approval under an earlier Board ruling that rejected adoptions in the People's Republic of China for immigration purposes. The…
Matter of Kwok
Adopted daughter's visa petition approval reinstated
A United States citizen sought family preference status for a daughter adopted as an infant in mainland China in 1936. The District Director approved the petition, then revoked it after applying a Board decision about an adoption in Hong Kong. The Board held that the law governing the 1936 mainland…
Matter of Zampetis
Adjustment approved after fiancé visa marriage did not occur
A man entered the United States on a fiancé visa, but the citizen who had petitioned for him changed her mind about marrying him. He later married another U.S. citizen, whose petition to classify him as an immediate relative was approved. An investigation found that he had intended in good faith to…
Matter of Khan
Derivative immigrant visa invalid when principal died before entry
A Pakistani national entered the United States on a derivative immigrant visa issued because his father had a visa as the brother of a U.S. citizen. His father died before the son entered, but the son did not learn of the death until afterward. The Board held that the son could not qualify as a…
Matter of Tabcum
Exchange visitor's spouse remained subject to residence rule
A Thai nurse entered the United States as the spouse of an exchange visitor whose program was financed by the U.S. government. She sought adjustment of status based on an approved employment preference petition. The Regional Commissioner held that the 1970 amendment to section 212(e) did not remove…
Hamilton Metal Products, Inc.
Default affirmed after repeated filing failures
Hamilton Metal Products timely contested but initially failed to serve affected employees. After receiving repeated instructions, it eventually documented service of the contest, but it did not file a proper answer to the complaint. Its later letters argued that the violations were minor and…
Modern Marble, Inc.
Ten-item amended citation and $118 affirmed
OSHA initially cited Modern Marble for 14 items and proposed $218 in penalties. The Secretary's complaint omitted items 1, 4, 6, and 7, each carrying $25, which amended both the citation and the penalty total. The judge corrected the penalty to $118 but still referred to all 14 citation items. The…
Matter of Awaijane
Adjustment denied but voluntary departure granted
A Lebanese national sought adjustment of status and voluntary departure after overstaying his visitor admission. He had been convicted in Lebanon of attempted murder for an act committed in 1964. The Board held that the conviction involved moral turpitude, did not qualify for the petty offense…
Matter of Ponce de Leon
Alternate chargeability supported spouse petition
A lawful permanent resident born in Germany petitioned for family preference status for her husband, who was born in Mexico. The District Director allowed the husband to be charged to Germany under the rule for an accompanying spouse, despite his birth in the Western Hemisphere. The Board held that…
Dale M. Madden Construction, Inc.
Crane power-line citation and $650 penalty affirmed
Madden Construction operated a crane near a 55,000-volt overhead line while leveling the equipment for pile-driving work. An employee at an outrigger received an electrical shock and was injured. The judge dismissed the case because he found the Secretary's accident investigation weak and concluded…
Matter of Mangabat
Section 241(f) relief unavailable to nonimmigrant entrant
A Philippine citizen entered the United States as a nonimmigrant visitor and stayed beyond the authorized period. After conceding deportability and failing to depart voluntarily, she moved to reopen the proceedings, arguing that she had not intended to remain permanently when she obtained her visa…
Matter of Martinez-Gomez
Narcotics place maintenance conviction supports deportability
A Mexican citizen admitted as an immigrant was convicted in California of maintaining a place for the unlawful selling, giving away, or using of narcotics. The special inquiry officer terminated the deportation proceedings, but the Board held that the conviction was for a law relating to illicit…
Matter of Schunck
Presence at a place where narcotics were used did not support deportability
A citizen of the Netherlands who was born in Indonesia was convicted in California of visiting or being in a place where narcotics were unlawfully smoked or used, with knowledge that the activity was occurring. The special inquiry officer terminated the deportation proceedings. The Board held that…
Matter of Lam
Motion to reopen denied for insufficient hardship and delay tactics
The Board considered a respondent's motion to reopen deportation proceedings so he could apply for suspension of deportation. The respondent's affidavit asserted that returning to Hong Kong would cause economic and emotional hardship, but the Board found those assertions conclusory and unsupported…
Matter of Martinez-Solis
Deportation order affirmed after second marriage presumption rejected
A Mexican citizen admitted as a permanent resident appealed a deportation order under section 241(a)(1), with the charge stated as excludable at entry because he had no labor certification. The Board also considered whether his marriage to a United States citizen was presumed valid when she had a…
Matter of Sandin-Nava
Section 241(f) relief upheld for parent of citizen child
A Mexican citizen admitted as a permanent resident had concealed his first marriage when he entered the United States using a visa based on a second marriage. The special inquiry officer found him deportable on fraud, visa, and labor certification grounds but granted relief under section 241(f)…
Matter of Chatterton
Alternate chargeability rule applied to daughter born in Peru
A British citizen who was a lawful permanent resident of the United States petitioned for preference status for his unmarried daughter, who was born in Peru while he was temporarily working there. The District Director denied the petition under an earlier Board decision, but the Board held that…
New York Packaging Corporation
Citation and penalty affirmed by default
New York Packaging did not answer the Secretary's complaint. The judge refused to affirm the citation and penalty without more factual information about jurisdiction, violation classification, and penalty factors, and denied the Secretary's request for reconsideration. The Commission treated the…
Exacto Products Corporation
Withdrawal approved and $93.75 penalty affirmed
Exacto Products and the Secretary agreed that the company should withdraw its contest to four non-serious citations carrying $93.75 in proposed penalties. The record showed abatement, a promise of continuing compliance, tender of the penalty, and an opportunity for affected employees to…
Suddath of South Florida
Withdrawal settlement approved with one item removed
OSHA issued Suddath two non-serious citations containing nine items. The parties stipulated that six pleaded items had been and would remain corrected, the company had paid $62.50, one item should be withdrawn because the alleged facts were not a violation, and employees had notice through…
Matter of Yuen
Claimed adoption did not support visa preference
A United States citizen petitioned for immigration status for his nephew, whom he said he and his wife had adopted in China when the boy was six. The beneficiary lived apart from them until he visited the United States at age 18. The Board found that no true parental relationship had been created…
Matter of Perez-Lopez
Deportation order upheld on independent evidence
The special inquiry officer first terminated deportation proceedings after finding that evidence about two Mexican brothers came from unlawful searches and tainted leads. An anonymous letter later identified the brothers, their relatives, their address, and their work, and led to additional…
Matter of Vallejos
Medical records admitted in deportation proceedings
A Philippine citizen challenged the use of hospital records and medical testimony in deportation proceedings concerning whether he had leprosy when he entered the United States. He asked to reopen the proceedings and suppress that evidence under Hawaii's medical confidentiality rules and…
Matter of Payan
Deportability established from sham immigration documents
A Mexican citizen and permanent resident was charged with helping two Mexican aliens obtain fraudulent immigration documents for money. She had a federal conviction for conspiring to obtain immigrant visas through false documents, and the Board considered testimony and statements about the…
Matter of Mosqueda
Reentry permit denied while deportation order stood
A Cuban lawful permanent resident with an outstanding deportation order sought a reentry permit to visit sick relatives in Costa Rica. Deportation to Cuba had been withheld because of the risk of persecution there. The Regional Commissioner explained that leaving the United States while the order…
Matter of La Grotta
Prior fraudulent marriage barred later family petition
A U.S. citizen petitioned for family preference status for her unmarried adult son. The District Director had approved the petition, then revoked approval because an earlier finding established that the son had used a fraudulent marriage to obtain immigration status. The Board held that section…
American Home Products
Press-guarding settlement and $770 penalty approved
OSHA cited American Home Products after finding numerous inadequately guarded punch presses and foot-operated press pedals at its Ekco Housewares division. The record stated that press conditions had caused multiple employee amputations before inspection. The company represented that it had fully…
Sharp and Parrott, Inc.
No-penalty withdrawal settlement approved
OSHA cited Sharp and Parrott for conditions under standards that had not yet taken effect, proposed no penalty, and the parties agreed to treat the citation as arising under the general duty clause. The company represented that the conditions had been corrected, promised continuing compliance…
Dawson Brothers Mechanical Contractors
Withdrawal remanded for settlement evidence
Dawson Brothers and the Secretary stipulated to withdrawal of the company's contest, and the judge proposed making the citation and penalty final. The Commission found that the record did not show when abatement was or would be completed, whether the employer promised continuing compliance, whether…
Arthur G. McKee & Company
Serious-citation withdrawal and $700 penalty approved
Arthur G. McKee & Company moved to withdraw its contest to a serious citation. The company represented that it had fully corrected the violation, paid the $700 proposed penalty, and would continue to comply. Affected employees and the Secretary consented, and the motion was served on the…
S & H Riggers & Erectors, Inc.
Serious-citation withdrawal and $750 penalty approved
S & H Riggers & Erectors moved to withdraw its contest to a serious citation. The company represented that it had fully corrected the violation, paid the $750 proposed penalty, and would continue to comply. Affected employees and the Secretary consented, and the motion was served on the Secretary's…
Gifford-Hill Pre-Stress
Concrete-lifting settlement and $700 penalty approved
OSHA cited Gifford-Hill, a general contractor, and an erection subcontractor over allegedly unsafe lifting attachments on prestressed concrete slabs. Gifford-Hill moved to withdraw its contest, represented that the condition was corrected, paid the $700 proposed penalty, and promised continuing…
Matter of M/V Oceanic Peace
Crew inspection fine reduced to $6,000
A vessel stopped in the Canal Zone to take on a replacement engineer before arriving in New York. The Board held that this business stop made the ship an arrival from a foreign port and required immigration inspection of its crew. The carrier's own manifests showed that six crew members deserted…
Hidden Valley Corporation of Virginia
Trench citation affirmed and penalty raised to $1,000
Hidden Valley required employees to work in an approximately nine-foot-deep sewer trench whose sides were neither shored nor sloped. The trench collapsed and killed an employee and another person. Because the specific construction standard was not yet applicable to this employer, OSHA cited the…
Nacirema Operating Company, Inc.
Forklift penalty reduced and reporting item left unpenalized
Nacirema used a forklift without an overhead guard to move heavy boxes in a ship's hold. A box fell onto the operator, causing a spinal fracture and hospitalization, and the company also failed to report the hospitalization within 48 hours. The employer admitted both violations and disputed the…
Southeastern Maritime Company
Safety-net citation and $26.49 penalty affirmed
Southeastern Maritime assigned two gangs to load flour sacks at different levels in the same ship hold. One gang worked on a cargo stack about 11 feet above employees below, but the company did not rig the safety net required to prevent workers or cargo from falling. The company did not dispute…
Matter of M/V Ferrol
Carrier liable after replacement crewman left vessel
A replacement cook entered the United States in transit without a visa to join the M/V Ferrol at Toledo, Ohio. Immigration officers allowed him to work aboard the vessel but ordered him detained on board without landing privileges. He later left the ship at Duluth. The District Director ended the…
Puget Sound Power & Light Co.
Disputed settlement set aside and hearing ordered
OSHA cited Puget Sound Power & Light under the general duty clause and proposed a $600 penalty. The parties stipulated that the case involved legitimate factual and legal disputes, the company would withdraw its contest, and it would pay $550 without admitting a violation. The judge approved the…
Matter of Greer
Acknowledgment did not legitimate child under Montserrat law
A father sought immediate-relative immigrant status for his daughter, who was born out of wedlock and lived in Montserrat. He had acknowledged paternity since her birth and was named as her father on her birth certificate. The Board held that acknowledgment alone did not legitimate the child under…
Matter of Fotopoulos
Labor certification did not cover the job sought at entry
A man entered the United States with an immigrant visa supported by a labor certification for a dye box operator job in Connecticut. He went directly to New York, never worked for the certified employer, and took other jobs without certifications. The Board upheld the finding that he did not intend…
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…
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.