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 Kyriakarakos
Unauthorized work barred change from visitor to student
A Greek citizen admitted as a visitor for pleasure applied to change to student status. He had begun working as a restaurant busboy before filing that application and continued working several days each week. The Regional Commissioner held that this employment violated his visitor status. Because…
Matter of Duran-Montoya
Existing marriage weighed against adjustment
A Colombian citizen sought adjustment to permanent resident status after entering the United States as a visitor. He had married in a Catholic ceremony in Colombia, later married another person in Florida, and said his first marriage was invalid because it had not been registered in a civil…
Matter of Simicevic
Divorce ended the stepchild relationship for this visa petition
A lawful permanent resident petitioned for third preference immigrant visa status for the son of her former husband. She had married his father when the son was 13, but they divorced before she filed the petition. The son remained in his father's custody, and both former spouses later remarried…
Matter of Amico
Father's compulsory military service did not end citizenship before son's birth
An applicant born in Italy in 1939 sought a certificate of United States citizenship through his father, who was born in New Jersey. His father had sworn allegiance during voluntary Italian army service while still a minor. The decision treated later voluntary confirmation before January 13, 1941…
Matter of Banjeglav
Crewman did not establish likely physical persecution
A Yugoslav crewman remained in the United States after his authorized stay expired. He sought a stay of deportation, arguing that his desertion and political opposition to communism would expose him to physical persecution if returned to Yugoslavia. The Board found that the documented penalties for…
Matter of Yanez-Carrillo
Citizenship retained after prompt return
A man born in Mexico to a U.S. citizen mother learned in 1962 that he might have acquired U.S. citizenship through her. The special inquiry officer found him excludable as an immigrant without proper documents because he had not satisfied the statutory U.S. physical presence requirement. The Board…
Matter of M/S Panaghia Theoskepasti
Vessel agents' fine set aside because the wrong statutory charge was used
Immigration officials denied an alien crewman landing privileges, then allowed the vessel's agents to take him ashore for medical treatment under guard. The crewman escaped on the way to the doctor. The district director imposed a $600 fine on the agents under section 254 of the immigration statute…
Matter of Woo
Military service supported suspension of deportation
A man born in Hong Kong had entered the United States as a child under another person's name and a false claim of citizenship. He later served honorably on active duty in the U.S. Army for more than two years. The Board held that his service exempted him from the usual continuous physical presence…
Matter of Cardenas-Pinedo
Brief family visits did not create a new entry
A lawful permanent resident made brief visits to relatives in Mexico after pleading guilty to a theft charge. Immigration officials argued that his returns to the United States were new entries that supported deportation. Applying Rosenberg v. Fleuti , the Board held that the visits were innocent…
Matter of O'Sullivan
Board leaves termination of deportation proceedings in place
A Canadian nurse faced deportation after a Michigan conviction for unlawful use of narcotic drugs. The trial court later granted her motion for a new trial and dismissed the criminal case. The Service argued that the court had acted only to prevent deportation and had exceeded its authority. The…
Matter of Zavala
Adjustment denied in discretion based on children's circumstances
A widowed Honduran visitor applied to become a permanent resident after entering the United States. Her five minor children remained in Honduras with their paternal grandparents. The district director denied adjustment in discretion, citing the children's need for her care and the lack of a…
Matter of Ghazal
Fraudulent visa did not bar eligibility for adjustment
A Syrian man entered the United States with a nonquota immigrant visa issued under another name after falsely claiming to have been born in Brazil. A special inquiry officer found him ineligible to seek adjustment of status and ordered deportation. The Board held that the fraudulent visa did not…
Matter of Bisulca
Minister visa petition denied for lack of qualifying vocation
A New York pastor petitioned for an Italian beneficiary living in Argentina to serve as an assistant pastor under the nonquota minister provision. The record described the beneficiary's voluntary evangelism and a Certificate of Ministry, but did not establish that he had carried on the vocation of…
Matter of Perez-Jimenez
Deportation order withdrawn during extradition proceedings
A former president of Venezuela faced extradition proceedings while a United States deportation order against him remained outstanding. He sought to reopen deportation proceedings to argue that return to Venezuela would expose him to physical persecution. The immigration service instead asked the…
Matter of Peralta
Military service qualified the applicant for suspension of deportation
A Philippine citizen admitted as a student stopped attending school and became deportable for violating his admission conditions. He sought suspension of deportation although he had not lived in the United States for seven years. The Board held that section 244(b) waived any specified physical…
Matter of Hernandez
Foreign government employment required authenticated legal proof
An applicant who held United States and Mexican citizenship from birth appealed an exclusion order based on an alleged loss of United States nationality. He had worked for a municipal water system in Mexico, and the government claimed that his job was under a foreign government. The Board found the…
Matter of Michigan State University
Temporary research associate qualified for visa classification
Michigan State University sought a visa for a research associate to develop materials for a new Chinese language and literature degree program. The district director denied the petition because the program would be permanent. The Acting Regional Commissioner distinguished the lasting degree program…
Matter of Michigan State University
Visiting mathematics scholar held a temporary teaching role
Michigan State University sought a visa for a distinguished scholar to teach and research mathematics during one academic year. The district director denied the petition because the courses appeared in the university catalogue and the position seemed permanent. The Acting Regional Commissioner…
Matter of Rios-Carrillo
Agricultural worker's deportability required a reopened hearing
The respondent, a Mexican agricultural worker, remained in the United States after the period authorized by his admission. He had also applied to change to another temporary agricultural worker status, but the Service denied that application because it treated him as outside the nonimmigrant…
Matter of Bauer
Minor's compelled travel did not create a new entry
A German citizen admitted for permanent residence traveled with his mother and stepfather to Germany when he was 16 because his stepfather had military orders there. He returned with them to the United States at 19. Immigration officials sought to deport him based on a later criminal conviction…
Matter of Stojkovic
Former Trujillo officer did not establish likely physical persecution
A Dominican national who had served as an officer in the Anti-Communist Foreign Legion under the Trujillo regime sought to stop his deportation to the Dominican Republic. He argued that his former service exposed him to imprisonment, expulsion, and mob violence. The Board found that his earlier…
Matter of Goncalves
Crewman status barred two forms of deportation relief
A Portuguese seaman entered the United States in transit to join another vessel and stayed after his authorized period. He later sought to reopen his deportation case to apply for suspension of deportation and adjustment of status. The Board had refused reopening because the law barred crewmen from…
Matter of Leong
Military service preserved eligibility for suspension of deportation
A Chinese national was deportable after entering the United States on a false claim of citizenship. The special inquiry officer granted him suspension of deportation and certified the order to the Board. The Board found extreme hardship based on his long residence, honorable Army service, service…
Matter of Encarnado
Former exchange visitor denied change to student status
A Philippine nurse entered as an exchange visitor, completed her nursing program, left for Canada, and returned as a temporary visitor. She then applied to change to student status for a nurse anesthetist course. The Acting Regional Commissioner found that she had already received the maximum…
Matter of Paul
Deportation order upheld and belated document request denied
A longtime permanent resident appealed an order finding him deportable because he had been a member of the Communist Party after entering the United States. The Board accepted the testimony of a government witness about meetings, dues, and recruiting activity, finding that the respondent's…
Matter of Wong
Evidence did not establish legitimation for a visa petition
A naturalized United States citizen petitioned for nonquota immigration status for a daughter born outside marriage in China. The District Director denied the petition because the evidence did not show that she had been legitimated and therefore qualified as his child under the immigration statute…
Matter of Koehne
Hungarian divorce supported approval of a spouse petition
A Hungarian permanent resident petitioned for third preference immigration classification for the man she married in New York in 1962. The District Director denied the petition because her previous marriage had ended in a Hungarian divorce while both former spouses lived in New York. The Board held…
Matter of Gardos
Earlier Canadian marihuana conviction supported deportation
A Canadian citizen was convicted in Canada in 1956 of unlawfully possessing marihuana and entered the United States in 1959. An immigration officer ordered him deported under a 1960 amendment that expressly covered such convictions. He argued that the amendment could not apply to convictions from…
Matter of Liadakis
Appeal from denial of deportation withholding dismissed
A Greek citizen who had joined Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States sought withholding of deportation to Greece. He said that his planned religious proselytizing there could lead to arrest and imprisonment. The Board accepted that religious confinement could, in some circumstances, qualify as…
Matter of SS. Ryndam
Attorney General affirms remand of carrier fine case
Holland-America Line brought a passenger to New York with a resident card but no visa. An immigration officer excluded the passenger, and the District Director fined the carrier $1,000. The Board withdrew the fine order and remanded so the carrier could present additional evidence, including…
Matter of Maturana
Spanish nationality defeated citizenship claim
A woman born in Puerto Rico in 1931 to a Spanish father and Cuban mother moved to Spain with her family shortly after birth. She entered Puerto Rico in 1957 with a United States passport, but immigration officials later reopened proceedings after finding her Spanish identity document. The Board…
Matter of Casole
Appeal from denial of admission relief dismissed
An Italian citizen entered the United States on a nonquota immigrant visa issued because he was the unmarried son of a permanent resident. He married in Italy the day after the visa was issued and before entering the United States. He conceded that the marriage made him inadmissible and sought…
Matter of Villagomez-Gasca
Prior deportations did not make concealed history material
A Mexican citizen previously deported from the United States did not disclose those deportations when he applied for an immigrant visa. The immigration service argued that the omission was a material misrepresentation because he had not sought fresh permission to reapply for admission. The Board…
Matter of McCarthy
Deportation suspension approved for Canadian citizen
A Canadian citizen had been deported twice and later returned to the United States without permission. A special inquiry officer suspended his deportation, and the district director sought reconsideration. The question was whether the statutory limit on suspension for natives of countries next to…
Matter of Louie
Deportation suspended for hardship to father and respondent
A Chinese citizen who had remained in the United States after his visitor admission expired appealed the denial of his applications for relief. He sought suspension of deportation under the amended statute's extreme hardship standard. The Board found that deportation would cause hardship to him…
Matter of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church
Part-time cantor role did not show urgent need
A Greek Orthodox church in New Jersey petitioned for a cantor from Greece. The proposed work covered Sunday and holy-day ceremonies, and the church said the cantor would need other employment to support his family. The Deputy Associate Commissioner found no urgent need under the statute because the…
Matter of Diaz
General mob violence did not establish physical persecution
A Dominican Republic national sought to prevent deportation under the then applicable physical persecution provision. He argued that uncontrolled political unrest could injure him as an innocent bystander, even if government authorities did not authorize the violence. The Board distinguished injury…
Matter of Fong
Crewman ineligible for suspension of deportation
A Chinese citizen who had entered the United States as a crewman appealed the denial of suspension of deportation. While his appeal was pending, Congress amended the suspension statute to lower the hardship threshold for some applicants but expressly excluded people who entered as crewmen. The…
Matter of Flight SR-4
Airline's document fine set aside after visa waiver
Capitol Airways brought a passenger to the United States without a visa or other document valid for admission. Immigration officials paroled her at arrival, and she later received a waiver of the nonimmigrant visa requirement under a published regulation. The district director imposed a $1,000…
Matter of Cruz
Citizenship claim rejected; deportation case remanded
The respondent was born in Saipan in 1933. His father, a noncitizen U.S. national, was born in Guam in 1904 and died before the Organic Act of Guam took effect in 1950. The Board held that the respondent did not obtain U.S. citizenship through his father under that Act: one provision covered…
Matter of Pires Da Silva
Permanent resident ineligible to adjust status again
The respondent had been admitted to the United States as a permanent resident. After two robbery convictions, an immigration officer ordered him deported. He sought adjustment to permanent resident status under section 245 and a waiver of the criminal ground of inadmissibility. The Board held that…
Matter of Palmieri
Adjustment denied after Italian visa quota closed
The respondent, an Italian citizen, stayed in the United States after his visitor admission expired. He applied to adjust his status while the third preference portion of the Italian visa quota was open, but the quota was oversubscribed by the time officials decided his application. The Board held…
Matter of Marinho
Deportation case returned for factual findings
The immigration service sought to deport a Portuguese man after his conviction for conspiring to make false statements in connection with his marriage and entry into the United States. An immigration officer ordered deportation on the theory that the criminal conviction conclusively proved he had…
Matter of Tarabocchia
Crewman ineligible for suspension of deportation
The respondent entered the United States as a seaman and later sought suspension of deportation. While his application was pending, Congress amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude crewmen from that relief. The Board held that the exclusion applied to his pending application because…
Matter of M/V "Clydefield"
Ship crew fines reduced to $800
Two crewmen left the M/V "Clydefield" after immigration officials denied them conditional landing privileges. The Board held that Sea Brokers, Inc. incurred fines because it had an absolute duty to keep them aboard. The ship had a professional guard, assigned crew to watch the gangway, checked…
Matter of Lim
Coast Guard arrival did not meet adjustment entry requirement
A Philippine citizen serving in the U.S. Coast Guard sought adjustment to permanent resident status. He had arrived aboard a Coast Guard vessel without immigration inspection, and the record showed no earlier entry at which he was inspected and admitted or paroled. His marriage to a U.S. citizen…
Matter of Sauer
Adjustment denied because visitor entry was not in good faith
The respondent obtained a visitor visa in Paris after concealing his earlier immigrant visa registration, a prior visitor visa refusal, and his parents' residence in the United States. He later sought a waiver of the misrepresentation ground of inadmissibility and adjustment to permanent resident…
Matter of Barrios
Board retains adjustment grant after reconsideration
The respondent, a Bolivian citizen, previously sought an immigrant visa but could not provide an affidavit of support. He entered the United States as a visitor, and the Board later adjusted his status to permanent resident. The immigration service asked the Board to reconsider, arguing that he had…
Matter of Picone
Attorney General permits proof of voluntary acceptance of foreign nationality
Giuseppe Picone became a United States citizen in 1922 and later lived in Italy, where Italian law restored his Italian citizenship after two years of residence. His son, born there in 1932, sought admission to the United States as a citizen through his father. The Immigration and Naturalization…
Matter of Rosenblatt
Board cannot review exchange visitor waiver denial
The respondent entered as an exchange visitor to train as a medical doctor and stayed after her authorized period ended. She applied to adjust her status, but the District Director denied her request to waive the exchange visitor foreign residence requirement. The Board held that neither it nor the…
Matter of Francois
Adjustment denied despite eligibility argument
The respondent, a Belgian citizen, had been convicted of transporting a stolen vehicle and was on probation. A special inquiry officer granted his applications for a waiver and adjustment to permanent resident status. On certification, the Board held that adjustment remained discretionary even if…
Matter of Kowalski
Deportation charge dismissed because hospital bills were paid
The government sought to deport a Belgian woman who was receiving care at a state hospital, asserting that she had become institutionalized at public expense. After an earlier remand, the record showed that state officials had set her husband's monthly charge based on his finances and that he had…
Matter of Cassisi
Board upholds termination when conviction record leaves offense unclear
An Italian permanent resident was convicted under a Connecticut statute covering several forms of conduct related to abortion. The immigration service argued that the conviction made him deportable for a crime involving moral turpitude. The charge in the conviction record identified only the…
Matter of Slade
Board upholds deportability finding based on invalid nonquota status
A Jamaican woman entered the United States with a nonquota immigrant visa issued because she was married to a U.S. citizen. Her sworn statements described a paid marriage undertaken solely to obtain immigration status, with no intent to live together as spouses. The Board held that the marriage did…
Matter of Frisone
Board denies fraud waiver after sham marriage finding
An Italian respondent entered the United States on a nonquota immigrant visa based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. In an earlier proceeding, the Board found that the marriage was entered into to evade the immigration laws. After a later marriage and the birth of two citizen children, he sought a…
Matter of Vara-Rodriguez
Board permits voluntary departure by crewman
A Spanish seaman entered the United States as a crewman and stayed beyond his authorized period. He conceded deportability, but sought voluntary departure. The special inquiry officer found him legally eligible for that relief and then denied it as a matter of discretion. The Board held that the…
Matter of Suh
Orphan petition denied over concerns about care
A petitioner sought to bring an orphan child to the United States. He worked as a handyman and house painter without steady employment, while his wife worked nights as a hospital nursing superintendent. The couple had two daughters, and the petitioner had a record of arrests and convictions. On the…
Matter of Bustillos-Ruiz
Board affirms admission of applicant as U.S. citizen
A man born in Mexico to one U.S. citizen parent sought entry as a U.S. citizen. He had initially been excluded because an officer found that he had failed to meet the physical presence rule for retaining citizenship acquired at birth. After the Board reopened the case, the officer found that the…
Matter of Sarkissian
Board sustains deportability and denies withholding
A Syrian student entered the United States with a Lebanese passport issued in another person's name. The Board held that the passport did not identify him correctly and that his misrepresentation to obtain a visa was material because he would have been excludable had he given his true name. It also…
Matter of Cavlov
Board denies withholding of deportation to Yugoslavia
A Yugoslavian crewman remained in the United States beyond his permitted stay and sought withholding of deportation to Yugoslavia. He said he had left Yugoslavia without permission, had been questioned about anti-communist statements, and had been recognized as a refugee by the United Nations High…
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.