The saga of Niz-Chavez v Garland, 141 S. Ct. 1474 (2021), and Pereira v Sessions, 138 S. Ct. 2105 (2018) continues . . . At a hearing on January 8, 2024, the Supreme Court heard arguments on two additional cases arriving out of similar sets of facts for the respondents in Pereira and Niz-Chavez: The appellants in the new cases had received NTAs which lacked a date and time of the hearing. At issue was whether those appellants, even though not seeking cancellation of removal – could make a claim that their notices to appear were insufficient, and therefore, the NTAs were invalid and their cases ..read more

Immigrants are nothing but ping-pong balls. Or tennis balls. Or soccer balls. Something to be smacked around the court with, beaten on the pitch, kicked around, tossed around, and otherwise mistreated. Why am I saying this? For years, I have said that immigrants are merely soccer balls. Immigrants are kicked around by both political parties for political gain. Don’t tell me that Congress couldn’t fix the immigration problem. The last attempt that came close was in 2013, when Obama was president. Yet, that failed. Why? Because the “gang of eight” got cold feet. Specifically, Republicans couldn ..read more

© Farhad Sethna, Attorney, 2024 In late 2023, the USCIS updated its policy manual on practical training for F1 and M1 students. The policy manual, which can be found at USCIS.gov/policy-manual/volume-2-part-f-chapter-5 is the source material for this article. The purpose of this article is to summarize some of the salient features of the policy manual, but if the reader wishes more detail, please consult the policy manual. Remember, this is only a summary. In general, F1 students may engage in three types of practical training. These are: Curricular practical training, also known as CPT; Optio ..read more

In articles in the New York Times and as reported once again by CNN, former president and wannabe president again, Donald J Trump, has made more dire threats towards immigrants in the US. Trump plots mass detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants should he regain power Former President Donald Trump is planning a widespread expansion of his former administration’s hardline immigration policies if reelected to a second term in 2024, including rounding up a undocumented immigrants already in the US and placing them in detention camps to await deportation, a source familiar with the pla ..read more

The USCIS is instructed that asylum-seekers who had a case pending at the EOIR (immigration court) can file the applications with the USCIS if the EOIR dismisses their application cases. Why would this happen? In 2021, US Attorney General Garland instructed the ICE and ICE attorneys that cases pending before the immigration courts should be triaged, with the non-criminal cases and non-national security cases being eligible for “prosecutorial discretion”. That instruction was challenged by several states, including Texas. The case went all the way up to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court deci ..read more

Effective November 1, 2023 all employers must use the revised form I-9, which can be found on the USCIS website. The form has an “edition date” of August 1, 2023 (08/01/2023). The benefit of the revised Form I-9 includes the ability for employers who are registered for E-Verify to remotely examine their employees’ identity and employment authorization documents. For all other non-E-Verify employers, the form has been shortened (unbelievable, in this age when USCIS seems to make its forms longer and longer with each edition!). The form can also be completed on tablets and mobile devices, and th ..read more

The University of Akron, School of Law Adjunct Professor Farhad Sethna Fall 2023 WHEN: Monday Evenings, 6:30 – 9:30 PM: August 21 – December 4, 2023 (also see d.(I)) WHERE: LAW SCHOOL – ROOM Syllabus Part I – Introduction and Policies In today’s politically charged world, it seems that Immigration issues touch upon every facet of our lives: from the issues we would expect it relates to: employment in the agricultural and construction industries, to those where we might scarcely expect its’ influence: domestic relations, banking and healthcare. Intertwined with immigration law and policy – espe ..read more

CLASS NOTES, ASSIGNMENTS, ITEMS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION – FALL 2023 __________________________________________________________________ Immigration Law – Fall 2023 – LAWX 699 – 801 (72754) WHEN: Monday Evenings, 6:30 – 9:30 PM: August 21 – Dec. 4, 2023 WHERE: Law Adjunct Professor Farhad Sethna Syllabus: Reading list and assignments (Subject to change) August 21, 2023 – Come to class prepared to introduce yourself and your family’s immigration background. Please discuss where your ancestors came from, how long ago, and how they immigrated to the USA. Tell us what area of law you think you’re going ..read more

In Matter of Coronado-Acevedo, 28 I&N Dec. 648 (A.G. 2022), Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed that immigration judges did have the authority to terminate cases before them under certain circumstances. This clarified the issue that immigration judges have authority to terminate cases under such circumstances with or without the concurrence of the DHS. This is a very important decision, because it dovetails with the overruling of a particularly limiting case, Matter of Castro-Tum, 27 I&N Dec. 271 (A.G. 2018) [which prevented immigration judges from terminating immigration procee ..read more

©Attorney Farhad Sethna, 2022 The USCIS final rule on DACA goes into effect on October 31, 2022.  The USCIS states that there are over 700,000 DACA recipients in the United States. What does this rule mean for the DACA-eligible alien, brought to the United States as a child under 16, before 2007? Briefly, the new rule codifies the DACA memoranda issued by Homeland security during the Obama administration. The DACA program has been criticized as being illegal by various Republican governments, notably the state of Texas. Many Republican governors have denied DACA recipients driver’s licens ..read more