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 Fleuti
Service did not prove deportability at entry
The immigration service alleged that a Swiss man had been excludable when he entered the United States in 1952, relying on a historical classification tied to homosexuality. A special inquiry officer had found him deportable but granted suspension of deportation, and the Service appealed that…
Matter of The
Stepmother visa petition approved
A naturalized U.S. citizen sought preference status for her stepmother in Indonesia. Her father acknowledged her shortly after her birth and married the stepmother while the petitioner was still a child. The Board reconsidered its earlier denial after Nation v. Esperdy held that the immigration…
Matter of George and Lopez-Alvarez
New adjustment bar applies to pending applications
Two applicants from British Guiana and Honduras sought adjustment to permanent resident status while deportation proceedings were pending. A special inquiry officer granted their applications, which had been filed before a new restriction took effect. The Board held that the December 1965 amendment…
Matter of Safadi
Visitor's appeal dismissed
A visitor from Jordan challenged a deportation finding after the Immigration Service revoked an extension of his stay. The Board held that the Service could terminate the extension when it learned that he did not intend to leave and had separated from his U.S. citizen wife. His wife had refused to…
Matter of Lethbridge
Counterfeit-obligation conviction sustains deportation
A Canadian citizen challenged deportation based on two federal counterfeiting convictions. The Board held that uttering a counterfeit obligation with intent to defraud was a crime involving moral turpitude and, by itself, sustained the deportation charge. It found that the other conviction, for…
Matter of Aleo
Claimed stepchild relationship was not established
A U.S. citizen petitioned for a girl in Italy as her stepdaughter, based on her husband's claim that he was the girl's father. The girl's birth certificate named another man as her father, and her maternal grandmother had cared for her after her mother's death. The Board found no evidence beyond…
Matter of LaRochelle
Deportability sustained, naturalization request left pending
A Canadian citizen appealed a deportability finding based on his sexual history and the immigration law in effect when he entered the United States in 1949. The Board upheld the charge under its interpretation of the 1917 statute and rejected his argument that the Government could not revisit…
Matter of Alvarez
Appeal dismissed after requested departure relief was granted
A Philippine exchange student remained in the United States after her authorized stay ended. She conceded deportability and received the voluntary departure relief she requested. She appealed to seek a stay until after a professional examination. The Board held that a stay request belonged with the…
Matter of Quintanilla-Quintanilla
Brief family visit did not create a new entry
A lawful permanent resident visited relatives in Mexico and made a pilgrimage for about a week, then returned to the United States. After a later murder conviction, the Government charged him with deportability for a crime committed within five years after an immigration “entry.” The Board held…
Matter of Johnson
Suspended sentence counted as conviction for narcotics charge
A Canadian national pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of narcotics in Washington. The state court suspended imposition of sentence, placed him on probation, and required four months in jail. A special inquiry officer ended the deportation case after finding that the criminal proceeding did not…
Matter of McNeil
Attorney General rejected a remand over deposition procedures
The respondent claimed United States citizenship while immigration officials sought his deportation and relied on a baptismal certificate and school record from India to establish his birthplace. The Board ordered new depositions to authenticate those records and later denied the Service's request…
Matter of Dolhancey
Prostitution charge sustained
The respondent, a French citizen, was convicted of three prostitution and assignation offenses after entering the United States. She admitted that the conviction records were hers and described operating a massage parlor where she committed acts of prostitution. The Board held that the conviction…
Matter of Talbot-Phibbs
Adopted daughter could use British quota
A British citizen born in South Africa was adopted there as an infant by parents who were not residents of South Africa. After overstaying a visitor admission in the United States, she applied for permanent resident status. The Immigration Service argued that the quota rule for a child born outside…
Matter of Nouri
Consular divorce did not establish a valid marriage
A United States citizen petitioned for her husband's visa after he obtained a divorce from his first wife before an Egyptian consul in Chicago. The District Director denied the petition because that divorce did not satisfy Illinois or Iowa law, leaving the later marriage unproven. The Board held…
Matter of Jancar
Father's acknowledgment supported daughter's visa petition
A Yugoslav father petitioned for preference quota status for his daughter, who was born outside marriage. The District Director denied the petition because he thought her relationship to her father did not qualify under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Her birth certificate showed that the…
Matter of Green
Board denied visa petitions for two children
A U.S. citizen sought visa classification for two Jamaican children of her husband, who were born to another woman during their marriage. The Board considered whether the children qualified as her stepchildren under the immigration statute. It distinguished a prior case involving a close family…
Matter of Lambert
Deportation upheld for prostitution-related convictions
A Canadian permanent resident appealed an order of deportation based on convictions under Florida and Tampa laws concerning prostitution. The special inquiry officer had rejected the original procurement charge but sustained a later charge based on two crimes involving moral turpitude. The Board…
Matter of Vega
Adjustment grant withdrawn after preconceived residence plan
An El Salvadoran visitor remained in the United States beyond his authorized stay and sought adjustment to permanent residence. A special inquiry officer granted the application, and the government appealed. The Board found that the visitor had misrepresented his employment when applying for a visa…
Matter of Smith
Deportation case remanded for adjustment and waiver review
A British permanent resident faced deportation proceedings after two New York disorderly conduct convictions. He sought an adjustment of status under section 245 and a section 212(c) waiver, but the District Director denied his waiver application. The Board held that an applicant seeking adjustment…
Matter of Vielma-Ortiz
Loss of citizenship did not erase permanent residence
A man who had been admitted as a permanent resident and later naturalized voted in a Mexican election while abroad. The Board treated that vote as an expatriating act under the law it applied in 1965. It held that losing citizenship did not end the permanent resident status he had acquired before…
Matter of Sourbis
Visitors' deportability affirmed after stay extensions denied
A husband and wife from Greece entered the United States as temporary visitors and remained after their authorized stay ended. The District Director denied their requests for further extensions, and a special inquiry officer found them deportable while granting voluntary departure. On appeal, they…
Matter of Peralta
Deportation case reopened after Philippine nationality ruling
A Philippine native entered the United States as a permanent resident in 1928, was convicted of first-degree robbery in 1936, and reentered in 1950. A special inquiry officer terminated deportation proceedings, reasoning that the man had been a United States national when convicted. The Board found…
Matter of Kurys
Beneficiary's attorney could not appeal spouse's visa petition denial
A United States citizen withdrew an approved visa petition for her husband, then filed a new petition after a state court ordered her to do so. She told immigration officials that she did not intend to live with him and had filed only because of the order. The District Director denied the new…
Matter of Bufalino
Appeal from deportation order dismissed
The Board reviewed an Italian respondent's appeal from a deportation order and denials of discretionary relief. The respondent had entered the United States without inspection after falsely claiming United States citizenship and sought a record of lawful admission, adjustment of status, suspension…
Matter of Stoytcheff
Exclusion order affirmed after hearing through hospital representative
A Bulgarian applicant had been paroled into the United States and was later confined in a hospital after being found unable to participate in a criminal proceeding. A physician told the special inquiry officer that the applicant could not testify in an exclusion hearing and that explaining the…
Matter of Sangster
Economic loss alone did not establish extreme hardship
A Jamaican student remained in the United States after her authorized stay ended. A special inquiry officer granted her suspension of deportation, but the Service appealed. The Board found that deportation would cause economic detriment, yet the record did not show she could not find suitable work…
Matter of Lum
National Guard training counted toward suspension eligibility
A Chinese national had entered the United States under a false identity and later used a United States passport based on a false citizenship claim. The Board held that annual active training with a federally recognized California Army National Guard unit counted toward the 24 months of active duty…
Matter of Chojnowski
Registered Polish birth certificate established legitimation
A United States citizen petitioned for nonquota status for his son, who was born outside marriage in Poland. The District Director denied the petition for lack of proof that the son was legitimate under Polish law. The Board found that the son's registered Polish birth certificate named the…
Matter of Batten
Conspiracy to misapply bank funds involved moral turpitude
A Canadian national challenged a deportation order based on two convictions after entry: larceny and conspiracy involving a bank's funds. He conceded that larceny involved moral turpitude but disputed that characterization of the conspiracy. The Board examined the indictment and cited federal cases…
Matter of Sanchez-Marin et al.
Manslaughter convictions supported exclusion
Three Cuban applicants were charged with exclusion after their parole into the United States was revoked. Two had pleaded guilty to manslaughter after being indicted for second-degree murder; the third had pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. The Board treated the killings as…
Matter of Mueller
Wisconsin exposure convictions did not establish moral turpitude
The Service sought deportation based on five Wisconsin convictions for public indecent exposure, which arose from separate acts. The Board examined the statute and concluded that the offense required no criminal intent or lewd motive. The complaints did not describe the circumstances of the acts…
Matter of Ortiz-Prieto
Adjustment denied despite statutory eligibility
A Chilean visitor remained in the United States beyond his authorized stay and applied to become a permanent resident. The special inquiry officer denied adjustment of status but allowed voluntary departure. The Board found no evidence that he had intended to evade the visa process when he entered…
Matter of Caudillo-Villalobos
Later marriage did not support retroactive waiver
The respondent sought a retroactive waiver of the ground of exclusion that existed when he last entered the United States in 1963. His renewed hardship claim relied on a woman he married in 1965 and their child. The Board held that the later marriage could not support the requested waiver because…
Matter of M/V Zarathustra
Carrier not fined for crewman's escape from federal hospital
A Greek crewman who had been refused landing privileges was taken from the vessel to a federal hospital with immigration officials' permission. He escaped from the hospital before the carrier's agents could retake custody. The Board held that the agents lacked control over him during…
Matter of Gian
French conviction could not support deportation charge
The respondent was convicted of theft by a French court while serving overseas in the United States Army. The Board held that the French conviction could not support deportation under the charged provision because the foreign court could not make a binding recommendation against deportation under…
Matter of Graham
Two-month trip interrupted required physical presence
A Jamaican student sought suspension of deportation after remaining in the United States beyond her authorized stay. She had spent two months in Jamaica during the seven-year period relevant to her application. The Board held that this absence interrupted the continuous physical presence required…
Matter of Mendoza
Petty offense left Mexican respondent ineligible for suspension
The respondent, a Mexican citizen, sought suspension of deportation. His Illinois conviction for receiving stolen property worth $49 was a petty offense under the applicable amendment, so it did not make him ineligible for a nonquota immigrant visa. The Board held that this visa eligibility kept…
Matter of Chan
Adoption not established for visa petition
A United States citizen grandfather sought preference quota status for his grandson, a native and citizen of China, as an adopted child. The Board held that financial support and living in the same household did not establish an intent to adopt under the applicable provisions of the Chinese Civil…
Matter of Estrada-Morena
Retroactive passport waiver upheld for children
Two Mexican siblings entered as immigrants in 1956 after their parents falsely represented that their mother was a United States citizen. The resulting passport waiver left the children excludable when they entered, so the Board affirmed the deportability finding. It also held that the special…
Matter of Pang
Crewman's voluntary statement supported deportation order
A Chinese crewman was ordered deported after going ashore in New York despite being refused permission. He challenged the use of a sworn statement he had given to immigration investigators before his hearing, arguing that he lacked counsel and that the statement was not properly authenticated. The…
Matter of Pust
School membership did not bar adjustment
A Yugoslavian student sought adjustment of status after overstaying his admission. The government appealed an order granting his application because he had belonged to Communist controlled youth organizations in Yugoslavia. The Board found that his membership began in school, paid for his…
Matter of Mariani
Refusal to answer relevant questions supported denial of voluntary departure
An Italian citizen entered the United States from Canada without the required nonimmigrant documentation. He appealed the denial of his request for voluntary departure in place of deportation. He argued that answering detailed questions about his entry could expose him to criminal prosecution. The…
Matter of Sanchez
Government did not prove loss of citizenship through voting
A United States-born woman testified that she believed she had voted in a 1964 Mexican election. A local official's certificate, however, reported no record of her voting. The Board held that the special inquiry officer had used too demanding a standard of proof for loss of citizenship: the…
Matter of Lavoie
Board upheld deportation under a 1965 exclusion provision
A Canadian permanent resident appealed an order of deportation based on a historical exclusion provision. The Board treated his statements about same-sex experiences and a Public Health Service certification as sufficient under that provision. It held that the government had proved the deportation…
Matter of Kwan
Service motion to reconsider marriage recognition denied
A U.S. citizen petitioned for nonquota immigration status for her husband, whom she married in Venezuela. The Service challenged the marriage because another woman in China claimed an earlier marriage to him and had not been served in a Michigan case affirming the Venezuelan marriage. The Board…
Matter of Stasinski
Wisconsin worthless check convictions did not support deportation
A married couple from Poland faced deportation based on separate convictions for passing worthless checks under a Wisconsin statute. The Service argued that the convictions involved moral turpitude even though the statute did not require intent to defraud. The Board held that a person could be…
Matter of Paulus
Unidentified substance could not support narcotics deportability
The Service sought deportation based on a California conviction for offering to sell a narcotic and delivering another substance in its place. The conviction record did not identify the substance involved. The Board explained that some substances treated as narcotics under California law were not…
Matter of Hassan
Jordanian proxy divorce supported later marriage
A United States citizen petitioned for nonquota visa status for her Jordanian husband. The District Director denied the petition because the record initially did not establish that his previous wife had been notified of a divorce obtained in Jordan through his brother as proxy. On appeal, the…
Matter of Millard
Inquiry officer could grant waivers in exclusion hearing
A Mexican citizen with a nonquota immigrant visa faced exclusion for earlier prostitution, an admitted perjury offense, and concealment of material facts on immigration applications. A special inquiry officer granted discretionary waivers and ordered her admission after finding extreme hardship to…
Matter of Palacio
Amended legitimation judgment supported child's visa petition
A naturalized United States citizen sought nonquota visa status for his son, born in the Philippines outside marriage. The Board had previously dismissed a petition denial without prejudice because the first California judgment did not establish the required form and date of legitimation. An…
Matter of Sias
Ten years in Mexico did not qualify as temporary absence
A Mexican citizen was admitted for permanent residence as a child in 1954, but her father sent her back to Mexico the same day. She lived there for about ten years, apart from short visits to the United States, and later presented her original resident card when seeking admission. The Board held…
Matter of Uy
Economic hardship did not establish extreme hardship
A student born in the Philippines sought suspension of deportation after living in the United States for just over eight years. He had earned physics degrees and said he would face limited job opportunities and difficulty adjusting abroad. The Board held that some economic hardship did not…
Matter of Rubio-Vargas
Adjustment denied after planned visitor entry
A Peruvian citizen married a lawful permanent resident in Peru and then entered the United States as a visitor, intending to remain with her and seek adjustment of status. A special inquiry officer found him legally eligible for adjustment and granted it. The Board agreed on eligibility but held…
Matter of Youssef
Adjustment withdrawn pending scholarship obligation
A student from the United Arab Republic studied in the United States on a government scholarship. His agreement required permission before marrying and obligated him to work for his government or repay scholarship funds. After he married a United States citizen without permission, the special…
Matter of Labiano
Visa petition revocation upheld under Nevada marriage law
A naturalized U.S. citizen sought nonquota status for a woman he married in Nevada. The beneficiary stated that he was her maternal uncle. The district director revoked approval of the visa petition because Nevada law prohibited their marriage and treated it as void. The Board held that the…
Matter of Soo Hoo
Claimed adoption failed Chinese law's age and writing rules
A naturalized U.S. citizen petitioned for quota preference status for a man she said she adopted in China in 1938. The district director denied the petition because she had not established a written adoption as required by Chinese law. The Board found that she offered no adoption document or…
Matter of Palacio
Later legitimation did not establish child status
A naturalized U.S. citizen sought nonquota visa status for his son, born in the Philippines in 1944. A California court entered a judgment declaring him the son's legitimate father in 1964, after the son turned 18. The Board held that the judgment did not meet the Immigration and Nationality Act's…
Matter of Wong
Two hour Mexico trip and suspension of deportation
A man from China entered the United States in 1951 by falsely claiming citizenship and later sought suspension of deportation. He had otherwise lived in the country for more than seven years but had made a two hour visit to Mexico. The Board held that the visit broke the continuous physical…
Matter of Kolk
False citizenship claim made brief return an entry
A lawful permanent resident twice spent four or five hours in Mexico and returned to the United States by falsely claiming U.S. citizenship instead of undergoing inspection as an alien. He had been found deportable for entering without inspection. After the Supreme Court held that an innocent…
Matter of Dagamac
Mexican mail order divorce did not establish a valid remarriage
A naturalized U.S. citizen sought nonquota visa status for a woman he married in the Philippines after obtaining a Mexican divorce from his first wife by mail. Neither he nor his first wife had lived in Mexico, and neither appeared there for the divorce. The Board found that the divorce was not…
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.