On May 16, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Harrow v. Department of Defense. While this case did not relate in any obvious way to immigration, its holding and reasoning has a significant implication for people seeking review of removal orders in federal court. Specifically, Harrow implies that the 30-day deadline for filing a petition for review of a removal order is not “jurisdictional”, in the sense of being something that cannot be waived and has no equitable exceptions. It is still crucial to file a petition for review in federal court within 30 days of a removal order if ..read more

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In  “What if the Job Has Changed Since the Labor Certification Was Approved Many Years Ago” we discussed strategies for noncitizen workers who are eligible to file an I-485 adjustment of status application, but find that their job has changed since the approval of the I-140 petition, which may have been many years ago. When the essence of the job remains the same, but the role may have evolved over time or require the use of updated technologies, the blog suggested that one may arguably still rely on the original labor certification and I-140. At the adj ..read more

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Jessica Paszko* Surely, USCIS would be hard-pressed to find that any one of the men who contributed to the founding of our great nation did not possess “extraordinary ability,” but would it draw the same conclusion about each of our Founding Fathers in the early days of their careers when their extraordinary abilities were spread across various fields? In that regard, does the U.S. employment visa system as it currently stands, propel the old saying that a “jack of all trades is a master of none” and rewards only those foreign nationals who are “masters” of a single field ..read more

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On April 10, 2024, USCIS issued a policy alert clarifying the term “sciences or arts” for Schedule A, Group II occupations. Schedule A occupations are those for which the Department of Labor (DOL) has recognized that a shortage of U.S. workers exists. Group I occupations consist of physical therapists and professional nurses, while Group II occupations include “immigrants of exceptional ability in the sciences or arts, including college and university teachers, and immigrants of exceptional ability in the performing arts”. Schedule A occupations are “pre-cert ..read more

On March 7, 2024, the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Laken Riley Act”, H.R. 7511. The bill was named after a murder victim from Georgia, whose “alleged murderer”, as the bill describes him, had been paroled into the United States from Venezuela and had previously been arrested for driving a scooter without a license (with a child who was not wearing a helmet) and for shoplifting. The bill describes its primary purpose as “To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody aliens who have been charged in the United States with theft”. Perhaps because th ..read more

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box On March 25, 2024 Chief Justice J. Randal Hall of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Statesboro Division granted Walmart’s motion for summary judgment in Walmart Inc. v. Jean King, which alleged that the administrative proceedings against the company for violations of immigration-related recordkeeping requirements should be halted because they were “being conducted by an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) who is unconstitutionally shielded from the President’s supervision. ALJs like Jean King, who was presiding over the procee ..read more

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* The process for an employer to sponsor a noncitizen employee for permanent labor certification is long and complicated. The first step in the process for filing Form ETA 9089, Application for Permanent Labor Certification, also known as PERM, is to file Form  ETA 9141, Request for Prevailing Wage Determination. It takes about 6 months for the National Prevailing Wage Center to issue the prevailing wage determination. It is only after the prevailing wage is determined, and recruitment is conducted, that the employer can file Form 9089, which takes 9 month ..read more

On March 8, 2024, Judge Tipton in Texas v. DHS dismissed a lawsuit brought by Texas and 20 other states challenging President Biden’s humanitarian parole program. Judge Tipton, who was appointed by Trump,  has otherwise been receptive to challenges to Biden’s immigration policies but not this time. Texas filed the lawsuit in his court thinking that Judge Tipton would again issue a favorable decision but Judge Tipton held that Texas did not have standing to bring the lawsuit. President Biden’s humanitarian parole program is a wonderful example of how executive action can reshape immig ..read more

By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* On November 29, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, a case that involves several key questions: whether the statues allowing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to bring administrative enforcement proceedings that impose civil penalties violate the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial, whether the statute allowing the SEC to enforce securities laws through agency adjudication rather than in federal court violates the nondelegation doctrine, and whether the Congress’ decision to allow Admini ..read more

On February 20, 2024,  the Supreme Court  heard oral argument in Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. This case could potentially expand the six year statute of limitations to challenge a regulation under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).   § 702 of the APA provides that “]a] person suffering legal wrong because of an agency action, or adversely affected or aggrieved by agency action” may seek judicial review. § 2401(a) of the United States Code generally requires that the complaint to commence such an action must be “filed within six ..read more