(The case, that is, not the person!) © Farhad Sethna, Attorney 2024 In Campos-Chaves v Garland, and Garland v Singh, Case Numbers 22-674 and 22-884, respectively, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion on June 14, 2024.  This case is the third iteration of the Supreme Court on the same topic – an evolution, if you will, further chapters of which are still to be written. [The third related case, Mendez-Colin, was bundled up with Singh, both having emanated in the 9th Circuit] I’ve previously commented on the insufficiency of an NTA which lacked a date or time.  The S ..read more

© Farhad Sethna, Attorney, 2024 In late December, 2023, the USCIS put out chapter 5, “Practical Training”, in its policy manual under volume 2, part F, “Students”. The entire practice manual can be found on the USCIS website. The complete citation is https://www.USCIS.gov/policy-manual/volume-2-part-f-chapter-5. As I always say, this article is not intended to be legal advice, nor a substitute for the actual law or regulations. Please read the policy manual and the extensive footnotes attached to the PM entry in order to research the underlying law and regulations. I am summarizing the crucial ..read more

I have said this for many years: immigration laws, and Congress in ability and willingness to make positive changes to immigration or crippling our own country. Where is the “Maga“ crowd? Where are the Progressive Democrats? Neither side wants to change the immigration equation, and it’s hurting America. When we spend billions of dollars to educate foreign students, yet deny them work visas, we are essentially enriching other countries of the world at the US taxpayers expense. Why not increase the H1B quota to-let’s say 200,000, or 250,000, and scrap the crazy rules, which restrict per ..read more

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