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 Mirza
Current worker still needed labor certification for adjustment
An Iraqi student overstayed his permitted stay and sought permanent residence through adjustment of status. He argued that he did not need labor certification because he had worked in the United States for more than four years and would not displace another worker. The Board held that an applicant…
Matter of Bedi
Engineering education did not qualify for third preference
An Indian citizen sought third preference classification as a professional mechanical engineer. He had a science degree from India, a refrigeration diploma, and a Higher National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering from England. The Office of Education evaluated his studies as the equivalent of…
Matter of Chau
Crewman's appeal from denial of reopening dismissed
A Chinese crewman who had overstayed sought to reopen his deportation case to apply for refugee adjustment of status. The Board held that he had not been continuously present in the United States for the two years required for adjustment under the proviso to section 203(a)(7). It also held that the…
Matter of Morcos
Prior removal defeated returning resident claim
The respondent had been admitted for permanent residence in 1929 but requested government funded removal to Egypt in 1938 after receiving public aid. He returned in 1965 on a visa for a returning resident without telling the consul about that removal. The Board held that the removal ended his…
Matter of Smith
False employment letter barred commuter's admission
A Canadian resident had commuter status while working at her sister's United States restaurant, but the restaurant was sold and she stopped working there. She continued to enter as a commuter using a resident alien card and false letters saying she still held that job. The Board held that the false…
Matter of Dingena
Board reverses termination on two conviction charge
The respondent was convicted in Wisconsin of sexual intercourse with a child under sixteen and, separately, burglary. A special inquiry officer terminated deportation proceedings after concluding that the first offense did not involve moral turpitude. The Board held that the offense involved moral…
Matter of Malone
Prior deportation could not support renewed proceedings
A Canadian woman was deported in 1953 on a prostitution charge supported by a conviction for offering to commit prostitution. The Board held that the evidence had not established the charge under the law as interpreted at the time. It agreed that relying on the 1953 order would perpetuate a gross…
Matter of Krastman
Adjustment denied despite statutory eligibility
A Dutch permanent resident had convictions from a February bogus note and two March fraud and theft incidents. The Board found that the government had shown the crimes did not arise from a single scheme, so it upheld deportability. It disagreed with the special inquiry officer's view that entry as…
Matter of Wong
Good faith citizenship claim requires findings
A Chinese citizen entered the United States in 1952 after claiming United States citizenship and later sought adjustment of status. The special inquiry officer found her ineligible because he considered her entry uninspected, but did not decide whether she honestly believed her citizenship claim…
Matter of Woo
Knowing citizenship claim barred adjustment
A Chinese citizen entered the United States in 1949 using his uncle's surname and claiming to be that United States citizen's son. He later sought adjustment of status under section 245. The Board found that he knew he was not a citizen when he entered and had willfully made a false citizenship…
Matter of Wong
Unauthorized work violated visitor status
A visitor admitted for pleasure took a job as a cook in Connecticut shortly after entering the United States. His admission allowed him to remain as a visitor, but did not authorize gainful employment. The Board held that the job violated the conditions of his nonimmigrant status and made him…
Matter of Padilla
Exchange visitor could not adjust without statutory waiver
A Philippine exchange visitor remained in the United States after her authorized stay expired and sought adjustment of status. Her country's consul stated that the Philippine Republic had ended her exchange status and waived her obligation to return. The Board held that this letter did not satisfy…
Matter of Peters
Father's adoption also legitimated daughter
A United States citizen petitioned for an immigrant visa for his daughter, who was born out of wedlock. The district director denied the petition because she was older than 14 when the petitioner and his wife adopted her. The Board held that the adoption also acknowledged and legitimated her under…
Matter of Semerjian
Engineering job established intent for visa preference
A Syrian mechanical engineer sought third preference immigrant classification. The District Director denied his petition because he had worked mainly selling vacuum cleaners after a short engineering job. On appeal, he showed that he had continued seeking engineering work and had started a new…
Matter of M/V "Tung An"
Crew detention fines reduced
Three crew members left a ship after immigration officers denied them conditional landing privileges. The vessel's master and agent were fined $1,000 for each failure to detain a crew member. The district director reduced the fines to $700 each, and the Board granted another $200 reduction per crew…
Matter of Cheung
Crewman could not reopen for refugee adjustment
A nonimmigrant crewman who had remained beyond his authorized stay sought to reopen deportation proceedings. He wanted refugee classification and adjustment to permanent residence. The Board held that the governing regulation required refugee applicants to meet the adjustment requirements of…
Matter of Glencoe Press
Publisher's proposed trainee could fill a permanent United States job
A book publisher sought to bring a British editor to the United States for a year of training in acquiring college textbook manuscripts. The publisher said it might later employ him permanently in the United States or assign him editorial work in Europe. The beneficiary also said he wanted to stay…
Matter of Mietus
Termination withdrawn after marital agreement finding
A Polish immigrant entered the United States as the spouse of a U.S. citizen after a civil marriage in Poland. A special inquiry officer terminated deportation proceedings, and the immigration service appealed. The Board held that the government bore the burden of proving deportability under the…
Matter of Williams
Adjustment grant upheld for former Communist Party member
The respondent had entered the United States as a child in 1907 and later joined the Communist Party. A special inquiry officer granted his application for adjustment of status but denied his alternative request for suspension of deportation. The Board found that his public break with the Party…
Matter of Basu
Biochemist qualified for third preference classification
An Indian biochemist sought third preference classification as a member of the professions. He held bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Calcutta and a doctorate in biological chemistry from the University of Michigan. He was working as a biochemist at Johns Hopkins University…
Matter of Devnani
Chemist's education and experience qualified him for third preference
Standard Products Company sought third preference classification for an organic chemist who formulated vinyl plastics. His Indian science degree was evaluated as two years of United States college credit, and he also held a United States master's degree in business administration. He had worked in…
Matter of Redekop-Rempening
Student admitted without a labor certification
A 22-year-old Mexican citizen applied for permanent residence while planning to continue her college studies in the United States. A special inquiry officer found her excludable for lacking a labor certification, relying mainly on a statement she had given to an immigration inspector about possible…
Matter of Burciaga-Salcedo
Commuter admitted after caring for ill child
A Mexican citizen lived in Mexico and commuted to domestic work in the United States after being admitted for permanent residence. She stopped working for more than six months to care for her seriously ill child; another worker filled her job. A special inquiry officer ruled that she had lost her…
Matter of Gee
Corrected Army record supports suspension of deportation
The respondent, a Chinese citizen, was found deportable after entering the United States without an immigrant visa. A special inquiry officer suspended his deportation, and the case was certified to the Board because the Army had corrected his service record. The correction extended his active duty…
Matter of Lee
Motion to reopen for suspension of deportation denied
A Korean citizen entered the United States as a nonimmigrant student and remained after his authorized stay ended. A special inquiry officer granted voluntary departure, with deportation if he did not depart. The respondent later sought to reopen the proceedings to apply for suspension of…
Matter of Alvarez-Verduzco
Exclusion ordered after narcotics conviction
A Mexican permanent resident sought readmission after a one-day visit to Mexico. At the border he attempted to bring in heroin and was later convicted under the cited federal narcotics law. A special inquiry officer terminated exclusion proceedings, finding that the brief trip had not meaningfully…
Matter of Tonga
Adjustment denied for lack of visa eligibility
A Tongan visitor applied to become a permanent resident after remaining beyond his authorized stay. A special inquiry officer denied adjustment partly on the view that he had planned to stay permanently when he entered as a visitor. The Board found that his stated plan depended on whether he could…
Matter of Sobers
Stepchild petition denied for lack of family relationship
A woman petitioned to classify her husband's alleged daughter as her stepchild. The Board had remanded the matter for evidence about whether the three had formed a family unit in Barbados or the United States. The beneficiary had been raised by her mother and then in an orphanage; before arriving…
Matter of Reeves
Suspension and voluntary departure denied
A Jamaican citizen appealed an immigration officer's denial of suspension of deportation and voluntary departure after he remained in the United States beyond a visitor admission. The Board agreed that the record established deportability and adopted the officer's finding that the respondent had…
Matter of Bilbao-Bastida
Return from Cuba required a valid visa
A Spanish permanent resident visited Cuba during a trip to Mexico and then reentered the United States with only his alien registration receipt card. An immigration officer found him deportable because a regulation in effect at the time made that card insufficient for a person who had been in Cuba…
Matter of Talanoa
Self-employed gardener needed labor certification
A Tongan citizen who had entered the United States as a student sought to adjust his status to permanent residence. He worked as a landscape gardener, found his own customers, and argued that self-employment exempted him from labor certification. The Board held that the amended labor certification…
Matter of Santoro
Mayhem conviction supported deportation
A permanent resident was convicted under Rhode Island's mayhem statute for injuring his wife. The Board held that the offense involved moral turpitude because the statute required a voluntary, malicious, or purposeful act. It said the circumstances offered as mitigation could not change that…
Matter of Vilanova-Gonzalez
Visitor employment violated status
A Spanish visitor admitted for business took an unauthorized construction job for at least 40 hours a week. The Board held that local labor for hire was outside the permitted business visitor activity and upheld the deportability finding. His earlier permanent resident adjustment had been rescinded…
Matter of Wojcik
Exchange visitor status barred suspension of deportation
A Polish citizen entered as a visitor and applied to change her status while studying medicine. Although she requested student status, her application included the certificate for exchange visitor status, and the immigration officer granted that status. The Board found the change valid and noted…
Matter of Pijaga
Crewman's case remanded for suspension request
A Yugoslav crewman who had overstayed sought to reopen deportation proceedings to apply for refugee preference and adjustment of status. The Board said the District Director, rather than the Board, decided the claimed preference, and a crewman was barred from adjustment under section 245. His 1957…
Matter of M/T "Dona Maria"
Carrier fine reduced to $200
A crew member who had been denied permission to land disappeared from the vessel Dona Maria . The carrier argued that he might have drowned while swimming ashore, so no illegal landing had been proved. The Board held that his absence from the outgoing manifest and the report that he was missing…
Matter of Vos
Law librarian qualified for professional visa preference
The University of Texas sought third preference classification for a law librarian from the Netherlands. He had a Master of Law degree from Nijmegen University and more than four years of law library work at the Palace of Peace. An education bureau found his degree equivalent to United States…
Matter of Kitsalis
Spousal visa petition denied
A naturalized United States citizen asked for immediate relative status for a woman he had married in 1964. The district director denied the petition, finding that their marriage was not a genuine husband and wife relationship for immigration purposes. The Board noted that they had never lived…
Matter of Ficalora
Visa petition required labor certification
An Italian student stopped attending the school approved for his immigration status and attended another school without permission. He conceded deportability but sought permanent residence based on an employer's sixth preference visa petition. The Service returned that petition because it lacked…
Matter of De Lucia
Board upheld denial of immigration relief
An Italian native challenged a deportation order after reopening his case to seek a record of lawful permanent residence, a waiver of a criminal ground of inadmissibility, and protection against deportation to Italy. The Board rejected his claim that publicity, alleged prejudgment, and limits on…
Matter of Argyros
Board upheld rescission of status from a sham marriage
A Greek citizen received permanent resident status after marrying a U.S. citizen. The government later sought to rescind her adjustment, alleging that the marriage was arranged only to avoid immigration limits. The Board held that her sworn statement to investigators was voluntary and admissible in…
Matter of Coletti
Board reversed termination of deportation proceedings
An Italian citizen entered the United States with a preference visa reserved for the unmarried son of a permanent resident. Before entry, he had married in a Catholic ceremony, lived with his wife, and had a child with her. Italy did not give the religious marriage civil effect until it was…
Matter of Nghiem
Physician's appeal for withholding of deportation denied
A Vietnamese physician remained in the United States after his exchange visitor stay ended and sought withholding of deportation to Viet Nam. He feared discrimination because of his American training, long absence, refusal to return, and American family. The Board found that much of his evidence…
Matter of Morris
Visa petitions denied without a stepchild relationship
A U.S. citizen sought visa classification for two Jamaican children of her husband, who were born to other women before their marriage. The children lived with their father's brother in Jamaica, and the petitioner had seen them only briefly during visits. The Board distinguished a court case in…
Matter of Miller
Board denied a visa petition for a stepchild
A U.S. citizen petitioned for a visa for her husband's daughter, who was born to another woman during their marriage. The daughter had lived with her mother until she came to the United States at age 15, although the petitioner said that she and her husband had supported the child and received…
Matter of Salama
Withholding of deportation to Egypt upheld
A special inquiry officer found an exchange visitor deportable for remaining beyond his authorized stay but granted withholding of deportation to Egypt because he was Jewish. The officer certified the order to the Board for review of the religion based persecution finding. The Board cited evidence…
Matter of Sihasale
Withholding claim remanded under amended standard
An Indonesian visitor conceded that she had remained beyond her authorized stay and sought withholding of deportation to Indonesia. The special inquiry officer granted voluntary departure but denied withholding. The Board could not tell whether the officer had applied the amended law, which…
Matter of Corral-Fragoso
Judicial recommendation did not stop deportation
A Mexican permanent resident was ordered deported for knowingly assisting other people to enter the United States unlawfully for gain. After a federal criminal conviction for transporting aliens, the sentencing court recommended against his deportation. He asked the Board to reopen and reverse the…
Matter of Garcia
Deportation appeal dismissed after two convictions
A longtime United States resident appealed a deportation order based on separate convictions for petty larceny and taking indecent liberties with a child. He also sought suspension of deportation, which Congress had rejected twice before. The Board held that both convictions involved moral…
Matter of Rossi
Narcotics conviction supported deportation after denaturalization
An Italian native was convicted of narcotics offenses while he was a naturalized United States citizen. His naturalization was later set aside, and an immigration officer ordered him deported. The Board held that the narcotics deportation ground applied because he was now an alien who had been…
Matter of Hall
Visa petition approved after void marriage
A United States citizen petitioned for immigration status for her Jamaican husband. A district director denied the petition because the husband's earlier marriage to another woman had no documented termination. The Board found that his marriage to that woman had been void from the start because his…
Matter of Nunez-Toro
Exclusion upheld for lack of immigrant visa
A Cuban citizen returned to the United States without a visa while in transit to Canada and sought admission as a political refugee. The Board held that his request to remain made him an intending immigrant who needed an immigrant visa. It rejected a second exclusion ground based on avoiding United…
Matter of Webb
Marihuana conviction supported deportation
A Jamaican permanent resident was convicted under Connecticut narcotics law after growing marihuana plants. An immigration officer held that the conviction supported deportation for a law relating to narcotic drug production. The resident argued that the conviction was not final because he had…
Matter of Brantigan
Marriage petition reopened for more evidence
A naturalized United States citizen petitioned for nonquota status for his new wife. The Board had previously found that California's presumption favoring a later marriage did not prove that his first marriage had legally ended. On reconsideration, the Board maintained that the petitioner had to…
Matter of Pang
Hong Kong deportation destination upheld
After the Republic of China declined to accept a man previously ordered deported, an immigration officer designated Hong Kong instead. The man refused to testify at a reopened hearing and challenged the officer's use of information from his Hong Kong seaman's discharge book. The Board found the…
Matter of Freeman
Marriage recognized for visa petition despite earlier Mexican divorce
A U.S. citizen petitioned for his wife after marrying her in Korea. The immigration service challenged the marriage because his first wife had obtained a Mexican divorce without appearing in the divorce proceeding. The Board found no Korean statute that would bar recognition of the divorce and…
Matter of Flores-Gonzalez
Honorable Army discharge preserves eligibility for deportation relief
A Mexican citizen conceded that his Texas marihuana conviction made him deportable, but sought suspension of deportation. The immigration officer denied relief because the Army had dropped him from its reserve rolls after his conviction, despite an earlier honorable discharge following more than…
Matter of Corral-Fragoso
Paid assistance with unlawful entry made return from Mexico an entry
A Mexican permanent resident arranged in Mexico to drive several people to Chicago after they entered the United States unlawfully, and pleaded guilty to transporting them. He argued that his return from a visit to his family in Mexico was not an immigration “entry” under the Supreme Court's rule…
Matter of Quadara
Suspended prison sentence still supported deportation
An Italian permanent resident pleaded guilty in New York to second-degree assault with intent to commit robbery, an offense the Board held involved moral turpitude. The court imposed a prison sentence of one to two years but suspended its execution and placed him on probation. He argued that a…
Matter of M/V Pacific Ocean
Crewman's missed inspection did not justify a fine
When a ship docked in Detroit, one Brazilian crew member was not presented to an immigration officer for inspection. The district director imposed a $200 fine on the vessel's master or agents, inferring that the crew member had gone ashore. The carrier supplied affidavits saying he had been fishing…
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.