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 Archer
Board denies visa petition under the 1962 child definition
A naturalized U.S. citizen petitioned for his daughter, who was born in Trinidad outside marriage. The District Director denied the immigrant visa petition under the law then in effect. The Board found no showing that she had been legitimated under the law of Trinidad or New York, which the…
Matter of Tzimas
Board denies adjustment to a seaman admitted in transit
A Greek seaman entered the United States with a transit visa to join a vessel, later married a U.S. citizen, and applied to adjust his status. He did not contest the finding that he had stayed beyond his authorized period. He argued that the regulation barring adjustment for people arriving to…
Matter of Di Filippo
Canadian false statement offense lacked moral turpitude
An Italian citizen admitted for permanent residence had a Canadian theft conviction and later pleaded guilty in Canada to making false statements under its unemployment insurance law. The examining officer appealed an order ending the deportation case, arguing that the false statement offense…
Matter of Box
Board leaves termination of deportation proceedings in place
A Haitian man used another name when he obtained a passport and immigrant visa after leaving Haiti. The Service charged that his false statements made him inadmissible at entry and that his passport was invalid. The Board held that the statements were not material to visa eligibility because the…
Matter of Lyons
Board affirms exclusion after voting in Canadian municipal elections
A woman born in Maine moved to Canada and voluntarily voted in municipal elections there between about 1938 and 1954 or 1955. She later sought entry to the United States as a citizen, but the special inquiry officer found that her voting had caused her to lose citizenship under the Nationality Act…
Matter of Bukowska
Withholding request denied after review of employment evidence
A Polish teacher sought to withhold deportation to Poland, saying she had lost her teaching job after refusing to join the Communist Party and feared imprisonment and loss of other work. The Board accepted that she might be unable to teach there. It found the record insufficient to show that she…
Matter of Cadle
Board reopens permanent residence application
A British Honduras citizen sought permanent residence after conceding that he had overstayed his visitor admission. The special inquiry officer denied his application because a statute barred adjustment for natives of countries contiguous to the United States or of adjacent islands. The Board held…
Matter of Mazar
Board approves termination of deportation proceedings
A Yugoslavian woman concealed her past Communist Party membership when applying for an immigrant visa. The Board found that she had joined the party after demands connected with her officer rank and threats to her safety, and that she later remained in military service for financial reasons. It…
Matter of Espinosa
Board leaves termination of deportation proceedings in place
A Cuban permanent resident pleaded guilty to a federal false statement offense after helping a visitor with an application to extend her stay. The Service sought to deport him on the theory that the conviction was for a crime involving moral turpitude. The special inquiry officer terminated the…
Matter of Pitzoff
Voluntary departure denial upheld on discretionary grounds
A German citizen who had overstayed a visitor admission requested voluntary departure. The special inquiry officer treated her relationship with a married man as a statutory bar and denied relief. The Board held that, under Oregon law, her conduct did not make her statutorily ineligible under the…
Matter of Niesel
Board allows selection of West Germany for deportation
A woman found deportable for overstaying a temporary visit designated East Germany as her preferred destination, then asked to withhold deportation there because she feared persecution. The Board treated that request as withdrawing her destination choice. It found that the government could instead…
Matter of Han
Visa unavailability bars adjustment for an exchange visitor
A Korean medical researcher remained in the United States after his exchange visitor authorization expired and sought permanent residence. His employer filed a first preference visa petition, and he sought a waiver of the foreign residence requirement for exchange visitors. The Board held that the…
Matter of Szegedi
Wisconsin reckless homicide held not to involve moral turpitude
A Hungarian refugee was convicted in Wisconsin of homicide by reckless conduct after a death involving a shotgun. An immigration officer terminated deportation proceedings because the conviction did not involve moral turpitude. The Board sustained that order. It found that the Wisconsin offense…
Matter of Bustillos-Ruiz
Board reopens citizenship retention case for more evidence
A man born in Mexico to one U.S. citizen parent sought entry as a U.S. citizen after years of working in the United States, including daily commutes from Mexico. A special inquiry officer excluded him because he had not established U.S. residence before age 23. The Board held that the citizenship…
Matter of Flores-Maldonado
Commuter's physical presence preserved citizenship
A man born in Mexico to a United States citizen mother worked in El Paso while living in Mexico. An immigration officer excluded him after finding that he had lost citizenship because he did not move his residence to the United States before turning 23. The Board held that the citizenship retention…
Matter of Villarba-Reyes
Military service did not change temporary admission
A Philippine citizen was admitted temporarily to work in Guam and later served in the United States Army. He was honorably discharged after about four years of service and argued that military service gave him permanent resident status under the Lodge Act. The Board held that the statute required…
Matter of Chang
Final deportation order barred later suspension request
A Chinese seaman did not appeal a 1953 order allowing voluntary departure with deportation if he stayed. He did not depart, and a deportation warrant was issued. Years later, after marrying a naturalized citizen, he asked to reopen the case to seek suspension of deportation. The Board held that the…
Matter of Medina-Lopez
Robbery equivalent defeated petty offense exception
A Mexican citizen was convicted in Mexico of theft from a person and assault arising from one incident. The Board treated the combined conduct as equivalent to robbery under the District of Columbia Code. Because that offense carried a possible sentence exceeding one year, the petty offense…
Matter of Peralta
Board accepts citizenship claim and ends deportation case
A man born in the Philippines claimed U.S. citizenship through his father, who had become a U.S. citizen before the man's birth. Immigration officials challenged his claim because his father's earlier marriage had never been dissolved. The Board held that the father's later marriage qualified as…
Matter of Jong Diing Liu
Visa revocation ended nonimmigrant status
A Chinese visitor obtained student status after entering the United States. The State Department later revoked his visa, and immigration officials told him to depart by a specified date. The Board held that the revocation automatically ended his nonimmigrant status under the regulation, making him…
Matter of Preciado-Castillo
Existing lawful admission record barred registry relief
A Mexican citizen who had been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in 1918 was later found deportable after two theft convictions. He sought to reopen his case to apply for a new record of lawful admission under section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. He argued that his later…
Matter of M—
Knowing issuance of worthless checks supported deportation
A British subject who had been admitted for permanent residence was convicted in the Virgin Islands on five counts of drawing and delivering worthless checks. The special inquiry officer terminated the deportation case because the statute did not expressly require intent to defraud. The Board held…
Matter of M—P—
Later deportability did not erase a lawful admission record
A Mexican citizen admitted for permanent residence in 1925 was later ordered deported after an assault conviction. He moved to reopen his case to seek a new record of lawful admission under section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Board held that his existing admission record…
Matter of P—
Earlier orphan visas did not exhaust the petition limit
A U.S. citizen serving in Japan sought nonquota immigrant status for his adopted son. An immigration officer denied the petition because the family had already received special nonquota visas for two adopted orphan children in 1959. The Board held that those earlier visas, issued without approved…
Matter of R—E—
Attorney General upheld admission after draft exemption
A Mexican national signed a form seeking exemption from U.S. military service as an alien. When he later sought admission as a returning resident, immigration officials treated that exemption as a bar to citizenship and excluded him. The Board found that he had not understood that signing the form…
Matter of K—
Prior registry denial remained final without new evidence
A Chinese citizen subject to a deportation order sought to reopen his case after immigration officials denied his application for a record of lawful admission under section 249. He argued that the officials had wrongly treated his admitted perjury as a ground of inadmissibility. The Board held that…
Matter of S—
Involuntary stay and voting in Lithuania did not end citizenship
The applicant derived U.S. citizenship when her husband naturalized in 1921. She traveled to Lithuania in 1938 and remained there until 1960, but the record showed she could not obtain permission to leave. She also voted in Lithuanian elections and said she did so under duress. The Assistant…
Matter of A—
Revoked sham marriage petition still triggered the later petition bar
A U.S. citizen petitioned for nonquota immigrant status for her husband, whose prior wife had obtained approval of an earlier petition for him. Officials later revoked that approval after finding the first marriage was arranged to evade immigration law. The new petitioner argued that revocation…
Matter of F—
Earlier annulled marriage did not bar new visa petition
A U.S. citizen petitioned for nonquota immigrant status for her husband. The district director denied the petition because the husband's first marriage had ended in an annulment for fraud after a visa petition filed by his first wife was approved and then revoked. The Board held that the record did…
Matter of S—
Prior order ending deportation case stood
The Immigration Service asked the Board to reopen a deportation case that the Board had ended in 1955. The Service argued that later decisions cast doubt on a trial court's recommendation against deportation. The Board held that the government had not appealed that recommendation and could not…
Matter of W—
Sham marriage bar applied to status granted before the amendment
A Jamaican woman received nonquota status through adjustment to permanent residence in 1957 based on a marriage she later admitted was arranged to evade immigration law. After she married another U.S. citizen, he filed a visa petition for her. He argued that the 1961 sham marriage amendment could…
Matter of S—
Guilty plea to conspiracy count supported exclusion
The appellant had been a permanent resident before his U.S. citizenship was revoked. After he traveled abroad, immigration officials excluded him based on a New York conviction for a conspiracy that included forgery and uttering a forged instrument. He argued that his guilty plea covered only the…
Matter of C—
Rhode Island marriage was void under Massachusetts law
A U.S. citizen asked for nonquota immigrant status for her husband after they married in Rhode Island. Her prior Massachusetts divorce had become absolute only two months earlier, and she and her new husband lived in Massachusetts. Massachusetts law barred the party against whom a divorce was…
Matter of S—M—
Use of Mexican communal land supported exclusion
The applicant was born in Texas to Mexican parents and had citizenship in both countries at birth. He later accepted the right to farm a parcel in a Mexican communal land project and continued living in Mexico. The Board found that the land right was a benefit available only to Mexican citizens by…
Matter of C—
Deportation order upheld on Communist Party membership record
A British national appealed a deportation order based on alleged Communist Party membership after entering the United States. An earlier court ruling had required production of a government witness's statement, and the reopened hearing supplied that statement and further cross examination. The…
Matter of T—
Two attempted larceny convictions supported deportation order
A German citizen appealed a deportation order based on two New York convictions for attempted petit larceny, arising from offenses committed months apart in 1961. He argued that the government had not shown the offenses came from separate criminal schemes. The Board held that his voluntary sworn…
Matter of F—
Concealed party membership made visa misrepresentation material
A Hungarian refugee admitted in 1956 did not disclose his Communist Party membership when applying for an immigrant visa. He argued that he joined under pressure to obtain work and later stayed because leaving could be dangerous. The Board held that the omission was material because disclosure…
Matter of H—
Later divorce did not validate visa petition marriage
A United States citizen sought nonquota visa status for her husband, a Jordanian citizen. They married in Jordan while he remained married to his first wife, a form of marriage permitted there. The husband divorced his first wife several months later. The Board held that federal immigration policy…
Matter of DiP—
Citizenship at birth established despite father's later Italian vote
A woman born in Italy in 1937 sought admission to the United States as a citizen through her father, who had naturalized in the United States in 1919. A special inquiry officer found that the father had lost his citizenship when Italian law automatically restored his Italian nationality after two…
Matter of S—
Late court recommendation did not prevent deportation
A Polish immigrant admitted as a displaced person faced deportation after New Jersey convictions for vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, and robbery. The state court vacated two convictions and accepted a new plea so it could recommend against deportation. A special inquiry officer…
Matter of J—D—D—
Visa application omissions did not support deportation
A woman entered the United States on a visa application that stated she was unmarried, had no children, and used no other name. She was married and had two children, and the special inquiry officer found that her misstatements made her deportable. The Board applied the Attorney General's test for…
Matter of K—B—W—
Claimed adoption did not establish lawful admission
A man born in China entered the United States as a child after being presented as the son of a United States citizen. He later admitted that he was not a citizen and that he had used a United States passport to enter again in 1957. He argued that his earlier admission should be presumed lawful…
Matter of L—D—L—R—
Concealed arrests made visa misrepresentation material
A Mexican permanent resident concealed two arrests when applying for his immigrant visa and later sought reentry after visiting Mexico. He had received a police certificate showing no criminal record, and the special inquiry officer found that the concealed arrests were immaterial because the…
Matter of D—W—M—
Divorce did not defeat adopted child's visa petition
A naturalized United States citizen petitioned for nonquota status for his adopted son in Korea. The child had lived with his adoptive mother for years after the petitioner moved to the United States, and the adoptive parents later divorced. On certification, the Board held that the custody and…
Matter of D—
Smuggling with intent to defraud supported exclusion
A Canadian commuter pleaded guilty to smuggling whiskey into the United States under 18 U.S.C. § 545. When he next sought admission, a special inquiry officer excluded him because the offense involved moral turpitude. The appellant argued that removal of the words “the revenue” from the smuggling…
Matter of C—
Recognition under Spanish law did not establish legitimation
A naturalized United States citizen petitioned for second preference visa status for a daughter born in Spain outside marriage. He had formally recognized her as his child while she was young and appealed the District Director's denial of the petition. The Board explained that the statute required…
Matter of S—
False citizenship claim prevented adjustment eligibility
A German citizen repeatedly entered the United States after falsely claiming to be a United States citizen. When deportation proceedings followed his last entry, he sought time to apply for adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The special inquiry officer…
Matter of M—S—
Earlier agricultural worker entry supported deportation charge
A Mexican citizen entered the United States as an agricultural worker in December 1959, committed a crime in June 1960, and was later admitted for permanent residence. He was convicted in 1961 and sentenced to five years in prison. The special inquiry officer ordered deportation under a provision…
Matter of M—R—
Family omissions did not make visa fraud material
A Mexican widow used her maiden name and omitted her marriage and three children when applying for an immigrant visa. The government argued that truthful answers would have led the consul to ask about her finances and childcare arrangements. The special inquiry officer found the omissions willful…
Matter of J—P—
Labor certification barred commuter admission for covered job
A Mexican worker who lived across the border sought admission as a returning resident commuter to work for Peyton Packing Company in El Paso. During a strike, the Secretary of Labor had certified that admitting aliens for work at Peyton would adversely affect the wages and working conditions of…
Matter of N—
Prior adjustment denial barred a renewed application without new evidence
The respondent was a German visitor who stayed in the United States beyond the period authorized for her admission. The Board rejected due process challenges concerning the interpreter, notice of the deportation hearing, and the requested continuance. It held that the district director's denial of…
Matter of P—R—
Uncorroborated voting statements did not prove loss of citizenship
The respondent was born in the United States but had previously been found to have lost citizenship through work for the Mexican government or voting in a Mexican election. The Service withdrew the employment theory, and the respondent later denied that he had voted in Mexico. The special inquiry…
Matter of Grecian Palace
Bond requirement upheld for temporary worker petition
The District Director denied a temporary worker visa petition because the petitioner did not post a $1,000 bond to secure the beneficiary's maintenance of status and departure. Counsel argued that the government could require a bond only when the beneficiary applied to enter the United States. The…
Matter of K—
False citizenship claim did not bar termination of deportation proceedings
The case concerned a Polish lawful permanent resident who had been convicted of breaking and entering and later entered the United States without inspection after falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen. A special inquiry officer terminated the deportation proceeding after granting a nunc pro tunc…
Matter of S—Y—L—
Formosa and Hong Kong deportation designations upheld
The respondent was a Chinese crewman who stayed in the United States longer than his admission allowed. He challenged an order naming Formosa as the primary place of deportation, Hong Kong as an alternative, and denying release on bond. Applying the United States' recognition policy at the time…
Matter of Hroncich
Deportation order withdrawn for a naturalization hearing
A Yugoslavian crewman faced an outstanding deportation order for entering without an immigrant visa. He sought to pursue naturalization based on military service, but the deportation finding impeded that petition. In December 1961, the Board held his motion in abeyance while the Immigration Service…
Matter of Plane F-BHSQ
Later parole did not erase carrier fine
Air France brought a German passenger to New York without the visa required for his temporary visit, and the District Director imposed a $1,000 carrier fine. Immigration officials later paroled the passenger into the United States. The airline argued that an emergency might have supported a…
Matter of V—
Citizenship certificate granted based on father's Philippine residence
A father applied for a citizenship certificate for his son, who was born in the Philippines in 1958. The father was born in California and lived in the Philippines from 1936 until 1954. The Regional Commissioner considered whether the father's years there before Philippine independence counted as…
Matter of G—
Visa fraud and voluntary party membership findings upheld
The respondent had been admitted as a permanent resident after obtaining an immigrant visa in Vienna in 1956. A special inquiry officer later found him deportable on charges concerning his past membership in the Communist Party of Hungary and concealment of that membership during the visa process…
Matter of M/S Tenna Dan
Crewman detention fine reduced to $500
Immigration officers refused a crewman permission to land from the M/S Tenna Dan, then temporarily took him ashore for fingerprinting and returned him to the vessel. He later left the ship without authorization. The Board held that the vessel's agents remained responsible for detaining him after…
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.