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 Garcia
California legitimation rule supports a married son's visa petition
A naturalized U.S. citizen sought fourth preference status for his married son in the Philippines. The district director denied the petition because the father had not established a qualifying parent-child relationship. The parents married when the son was 35, but the Board found that the father…
Matter of Paco
Withdrawn job offer voided labor certification
A Mexican applicant sought admission to work in the United States using an immigrant visa with a labor certification based on a domestic job offer. The prospective employer withdrew the offer after his wife died. The Board held that the withdrawal made the labor certification invalid before the…
Matter of Lau
Hong Kong upheld as alternate deportation destination
A crewman from mainland China remained in the United States beyond his authorized stay. A special inquiry officer allowed voluntary departure and ordered deportation to the Republic of China on Formosa, or alternatively Hong Kong, if the crewman did not leave. The Board rejected his argument that…
Matter of Kowarski
Visiting nuclear scientist qualified for temporary work
The University of Texas petitioned to employ French nuclear scientist Lew Kowarski as a visiting professor for the spring 1968 semester. The District Director considered Kowarski's research record, his position at the European Center for Nuclear Research, and the university's plan for teaching and…
Matter of McLean
Separate bad-check convictions supported deportability
A British citizen appealed an order finding him deportable after convictions for issuing bad checks in California and Colorado. The Board held that both crimes involved moral turpitude because each statute required intent to defraud. It rejected his claim that the offenses arose from one scheme…
Matter of Rodriguez
Later parole met Cuban adjustment requirement
A Cuban citizen arrived on January 1, 1959, received parole, and was inspected and paroled again after that date. The district director denied his application for permanent residence under the Cuban Adjustment Act because his original arrival was not after January 1. The Regional Commissioner held…
Matter of Contreras-Sotelo
Timely departure did not break residence
A Mexican respondent sought permanent residence based on continuous residence in the United States. The Service appealed the special inquiry officer’s grant of relief, arguing that his 1957 departure after deportation proceedings broke his residence. The Board held that a timely departure before a…
Matter of Benitez-Saenz
Timely departure preserved residence
A respondent sought permanent residence under former INA section 249 after a 1959 voluntary departure. The special inquiry officer denied relief because an alternate deportation order had accompanied permission to leave voluntarily. The Board held that the deportation order never took effect…
Matter of Medina-Ochoa
Brothers admitted as business visitors to salvage lumber
Two brothers from Mexico sought entry to demolish a house they had been given in California and take its usable lumber home. They would receive no pay, use no local labor, and expected to finish in about six days. A special inquiry officer excluded them as immigrants without visas, reasoning that…
Matter of Arjani
Accounting experience qualified applicant for visa preference
A British applicant sought third preference immigrant visa classification as a member of the accounting profession. The District Director denied his petition, and a Department of Labor advisory opinion found that his education alone did not equal a United States bachelor's degree. On appeal, the…
Matter of Young
Board denied reconsideration of stepchild petition
A lawful permanent resident asked the Board to reconsider its denial of a visa petition for her husband's daughter. She argued that a later court decision supported treating the child as her stepchild. The Board distinguished the cited cases because each involved a marriage after the child's birth…
Matter of Pasarikovski
Refugee classification denied without presidential definition
A Yugoslav citizen living in the United States sought refugee classification after an earthquake destroyed his home in Skopje. The District Director denied the request under a provision for people uprooted by a catastrophic natural calamity. The Regional Commissioner found that the provision…
Matter of Caydam
Deficient medical process required a new examination
A Turkish citizen facing deportation sought adjustment to permanent resident status through his U.S. citizen spouse. The special inquiry officer found him ineligible based on a Public Health Service Class A medical certificate. The Board found that the medical process had not followed required…
Matter of Ho, et al.
Deportation notices need not name an alternate country
Six crewmen from mainland China remained in the United States beyond their permitted stay. Immigration officials found them deportable and named Hong Kong as an alternative destination if needed. On appeal, the crewmen argued that their orders to show cause were defective because those notices did…
Matter of Wellhofer
Bermuda travel did not bar adjustment
A German citizen entered the United States as a visitor after traveling through Bermuda and later applied to adjust to permanent resident status. The district director denied the application based on an exclusion rule concerning travel from an adjacent island. The Regional Commissioner held that…
Matter of Chan
Adoption recognized despite age gap
A lawful permanent resident petitioned for preference quota status for her adopted son. The District Director denied the petition because Chinese law called for an adoptive parent to be at least 20 years older than the child, while she was about 16 years older. The Board found that the age…
Matter of Castillo-Godoy
Missing labor certification defeated motion to reopen
A Mexican citizen entered the United States to work after obtaining a visa through a marriage that the Board found was solely for immigration purposes. He asked the Board to reopen his deportation case after marrying the mother of his child, a U.S. citizen, arguing that he was now the parent of a…
Matter of Pableo
California legitimation supported son's visa preference
A naturalized U.S. citizen petitioned for first preference visa classification for his unmarried son, who was born in the Philippines outside marriage. The father had publicly acknowledged and supported him, and in 1951 the child joined the father's household with his wife's consent. The District…
Matter of Piraino
Suspended theft sentence fell within petty offense exception
The Immigration Service appealed a ruling that an Italian lawful permanent resident was not deportable because of a 1944 aggravated theft conviction. The Board treated the conviction as a petty offense under the law then in force because execution of the reduced sentence had been suspended, so no…
Matter of Buenaventura
School counselor lacked graduate study and teaching experience
A school counselor sought third preference immigrant classification as a member of the professions. The District Director found that professional recognition as a school counselor required graduate work in guidance and at least one year of teaching experience. The petitioner had a bachelor's degree…
Matter of Gerhard
Commuter status survived brief return to Canada
A Canadian citizen admitted as a United States commuter left an industrial blacksmith job after one week because the heat was unsuitable, and returned to Canada while his wife underwent surgery. He resumed work in Canada but found a better suited millwright job in Detroit about three months later…
Matter of Hyatt
Blanket labor certification covered visiting musicians
The owner of a Michigan steak house and lounge petitioned for temporary worker classification for two Canadian musicians who would play on weekends for four weeks. A Department of Labor blanket certification covered qualifying musicians working within 50 miles of the Canadian border for less than…
Matter of Bozdogan
State license was not required before visa petition approval
A Texas salon owner sought sixth preference classification for a Turkish hair stylist he wanted to employ. The District Director denied the petition because the stylist lacked a Texas beauty operator license and had not shown that he could obtain one. The Regional Commissioner found that he had the…
Matter of Norton
Michigan did not recognize the Mexican mail-order divorce
A naturalized U.S. citizen asked for immediate relative classification for Victoria J. Norton as his wife. She had obtained a Mexican divorce from a prior marriage contracted in the Philippines, but neither former spouse attended the divorce proceeding. The Board found that Michigan, where she…
Matter of Quan
Rescission of a mother's permanent resident status vacated
A Peruvian woman's permanent resident status had been based on her husband's claim to U.S. citizenship. He later admitted that he was a Chinese citizen, and the District Director rescinded her adjustment of status. The Deputy Associate Commissioner held that the family unity protection in section…
Matter of Wong-Setoo
Claimed adoption could not establish sister relationship
A naturalized U.S. citizen sought a family preference visa for her blood niece, claiming that her parents had adopted the niece and made her an adopted sister. The District Director denied the petition, and a later claimed adoption agreement prompted further investigation. The Board found that the…
Matter of Blanco
Canceled admission record allowed a new residence record
A Guatemalan woman had been admitted as a permanent resident in 1957. While she worked for an official of the Venezuelan embassy, the Service changed her status to that of a nonimmigrant and canceled her prior record of lawful admission. After the job ended, she sought a new record of admission…
Matter of Chan
Fraud waiver denied but voluntary departure allowed
A Chinese citizen appealed an order of deportation after entering the United States without inspection in the rear of a delivery truck. He sought the fraud waiver in section 241(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Board held that the waiver did not apply because he had entered secretly…
Matter of Hung
Short programming course did not establish professional qualification
A visa petitioner appealed the denial of third preference classification for a computer programmer. The beneficiary had a business administration bachelor's degree, a 95-hour IBM data processing course, and programming employment since May 1966. The Regional Commissioner explained that some…
Matter of Ahmed
Mechanical technologist did not qualify for professional preference
A beneficiary appealed the denial of his petition for third preference immigrant status as an assistant engineer and mechanical technologist. He had completed a three-year power technology course and was studying for a mechanical technology degree. The Regional Commissioner found that he lacked the…
Matter of Rivero-Diaz
Exclusion upheld on public interest and security grounds
A Cuban citizen appealed an exclusion order based on three provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. He was the founder of the Cuban Nationalist Association and said his activities expressed his political views. The Board concluded from the record that he sought entry for activities…
Matter of Nason
Separate mail fraud schemes support deportation order
A Canadian permanent resident pleaded guilty to mail fraud counts involving two fictitious names and conduct roughly ten months apart. An earlier Board deportation decision was remanded after a federal appeals court required a fuller assessment of whether the convictions arose from a single scheme…
Matter of University of Michigan
Visiting professor's one year teaching assignment was temporary service
The University of Michigan petitioned for a mathematician to teach for one academic year while a regular professor was on leave. The District Director denied the petition because the underlying faculty position was permanent. On certification, the Regional Commissioner found that the visiting…
Matter of Unnisa
Proposed operating room training did not fit exchange visitor program
An Indian medical graduate sought to change from temporary visitor to exchange visitor status for operating room training at a hospital. The hospital's approved program covered medical internships and residencies and courses in medical or x-ray technology. The State Department found the description…
Matter of Reimer
Consul's visa advice did not excuse entry without documents
A German permanent resident visited East Berlin while abroad in 1964. After police took his registration card, a U.S. consul told him it could no longer be used to return and that a new visa could take up to a year. He instead obtained a U.S. passport by posing as a citizen and used it to enter the…
Matter of Farinas
Old deportation orders set aside after miscarriage of justice
A Philippine citizen was deported in 1950 after a 1946 Board ruling treated a brief Canadian stop during employer arranged travel to Alaska as a new entry. The Board found that later controlling decisions issued before his deportation meant that the 1946 order could not have survived judicial…
Matter of Samuel
Clinical psychologist qualified for professional preference
A petitioner sought third preference visa classification for a clinical psychologist from Pakistan. The beneficiary held a psychology master's degree and a further diploma, had four years of clinical experience, and had a labor certification. The District Director found that his training met the…
Matter of Zappia
Marriage entered to evade Wisconsin prohibition did not support visa petition
A U.S. citizen petitioned for immediate relative status for his wife. They were first cousins living in Wisconsin and had gone to South Carolina to marry because Wisconsin law prohibited their marriage. The Board found that they went there solely to avoid Wisconsin's prohibition and immediately…
Matter of Hinojosa-Pena
Prior exclusion does not end the inquiry on a new application
A married couple from Mexico applied for admission as temporary visitors in 1967. They had been excluded in 1955 for obtaining immigration documents by fraud and had made later visits using waivers, but had no waiver for this application. The special inquiry officer relied solely on the 1955 record…
Matter of Wong
Adjustment request belonged before the district director
A man previously excluded from the United States had been paroled into the country and later obtained approval of an immediate relative visa petition. He asked the Board to reopen his proceeding so he could seek adjustment of status. The Board held that the governing regulation assigned his…
Matter of Bun
Engineer's temporary work did not defeat petition revalidation
An engineer sought revalidation of a previously approved third preference visa petition. He planned to study electrical engineering at Stanford and work part time in management consulting or investment banking to support his family. The Regional Commissioner found that his education, experience…
Matter of Mesa
Public assistance did not bar Cuban refugees' adjustment
A Cuban couple paroled into the United States in 1962 sought permanent residence under the Act of November 2, 1966. The Southwest Regional Commissioner denied their applications because they received public assistance and were deemed inadmissible as likely public charges. On certification, the…
Matter of Estrada-Tena
Completed exclusion hearing did not prevent withdrawal of admission request
A Mexican national who lived with his family in Tijuana sought to return to the United States as a commuter resident. A Public Health Service certificate found that he had pulmonary tuberculosis, and a special inquiry officer excluded him under the law then in force. During the hearing, he had…
Matter of Citlino
Citizen could petition for her stepmother despite being married
A naturalized citizen petitioned for immediate relative status for her stepmother. The district director denied the petition, and the Board initially dismissed the appeal because the petitioner had been married before her father married the beneficiary. On its own motion, the Board reconsidered. It…
Matter of Tiszai
Spouse born in Mexico did not need a preference visa
A lawful resident petitioned for a preference visa classification for his wife, who was born in Mexico while her father served there as a Japanese diplomatic officer. He argued that her parents' nationality and diplomatic assignment made her chargeable to the Japanese quota. The Board held that the…
Matter of Wong
Existing marriage defeated 1944 spouse petition
A lawful permanent resident petitioned for second preference status for a woman he said he married in China in 1944. His earlier marriage, however, had not ended until a 1967 Nevada divorce. The Board held that the Chinese Civil Code in force in 1944 did not allow a person with a spouse to marry…
Matter of Valsamakis
Earlier adoption did not bar petition for natural father
A naturalized citizen petitioned for immediate relative status for her natural father in Greece. She had entered the United States as a displaced Greek orphan in 1951 and was adopted by U.S. citizens the next year. The district director denied the petition under a rule that prevents certain adopted…
Matter of Sonegawa
Dress shop showed ability to pay designer
A Pasadena dress shop petitioned for sixth preference classification for a Japanese clothes designer. The District Director denied it because the shop's $280 net profit in 1966 was far below the certified $6,240 annual wage. The Regional Commissioner considered the shop's long operating history, a…
Matter of Polidoro
Adult adoption did not qualify for a parent petition
A naturalized citizen petitioned for immediate relative status for her adoptive father. An Italian court had entered the adoption in 1960, when she was 35 years old. The Board held that immigration law recognized this adoptive parent relationship only when the child had been adopted before age 14…
Matter of Gonzalez-Gomez
Retention requirement ended citizenship claim
A man born in Mexico to a U.S. citizen mother claimed citizenship when he entered the United States. The immigration officer found that he had lost citizenship under the then-applicable residence requirement because he did not establish five years of continuous physical presence before age 28. The…
Matter of Gaglio
Deportation waiver did not lift a visa petition bar
A U.S. citizen sought immediate relative status for her husband, who was living in Italy. The District Director denied her petition after finding that the husband's earlier marriage had been entered into to evade immigration law. The Board held that the deportation waiver in section 241(f) applied…
Matter of Yuen
Narcotics pardon did not permit reopening
A man with a deportation order asked to reopen his case to seek a record of lawful permanent residence under section 249. He had a California conviction for selling morphine and a full gubernatorial pardon. The Board held that the pardon did not waive the narcotics conviction for deportation or…
Matter of Lee
Pardon did not clear narcotics bar to reopening
A man with an outstanding deportation order asked to reopen his case to seek a record of lawful permanent residence under section 249. He had been convicted of opium possession but had received a full California gubernatorial pardon. The Board held that the pardon did not remove the narcotics bar…
Matter of Young
Existing marriage did not create a stepchild relationship
A lawful permanent resident sought a visa preference for a girl she described as her stepdaughter. The girl was born during the petitioner's marriage to a man alleged to be the girl's father, and the girl lived with her natural mother in the petitioner's Hong Kong household. The Board distinguished…
Matter of Nodahl
Child injury conviction supported deportation
A lawful permanent resident challenged a deportation order based on her California conviction for inflicting corporal injury on a child. She argued that the offense did not necessarily involve moral turpitude because it could result from a quick temper or weak character. The Board held that the…
Matter of Tsaconas
Fraud waiver did not answer overstay charge
A Greek visitor remained in the United States after her authorized stay ended. She argued that the fraud waiver in section 241(f) protected her because she had misrepresented her status to gain admission. The Board held that the waiver did not apply to a deportation charge based only on…
Matter of Tucker
Maid certification did not cover sewing job
A Jamaican woman entered the United States with a labor certification for a domestic job. When she visited the prospective employer, the employer said she had no work for her, and the woman immediately took a sewing machine operator job instead. The Board found that she had never received a labor…
Matter of Man
Motion to seek withholding denied
A crewman who entered the United States without permission sought to reopen his deportation case to apply for withholding of deportation to Hong Kong. He said that the British government would subject him to economic persecution and that a possible future change of government could expose him to…
Matter of Kim
Prior performer visa did not establish exceptional artistic ability
A singer sought third preference immigrant classification based on exceptional ability in the arts. She had previously entered the United States as a performer of distinguished merit and ability, but the Regional Commissioner held that this temporary classification did not establish eligibility for…
Matter of Alemis
Family fraud waiver did not prevent rescission of residence adjustment
The respondent received permanent resident status through adjustment in 1964 based on a marriage to a U.S. citizen. The special inquiry officer rescinded that adjustment because the respondent was still legally married to another person at the time, so the immediate relative visa classification was…
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.