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Immigration Practice Resources

Search immigration practice advisories, sample filings, manuals, brief banks, and government guidance from trusted practitioner sources.

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Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Jan 24, 2024

The Oath of Allegiance Waiver for Persons with Severe Disabilities

Recently, USCIS has conflated guidance for naturalization disability waivers of English and civics with waivers of the oath requirement for persons with disabilities. The confusion stems from USCIS’s addition of a question on oath waivers on the N-648 disability waiver form. These are separate waivers with distinct purposes, legislative histories, and administrative guidance.

Naturalization Waivers USCIS Direct PDF
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Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Jan 18, 2024

California U Visa Law Update

Law enforcement agencies in California have been responding to requests for U visa certifications for many years to allow immigrant survivors of crime and their family members to apply for U nonimmigrant status. However, until 2016 there was no statewide standard or protocol for certifications. Several bills have passed in the meantime to further streamline the process. Most recently, AB 1261 was signed into law in October 2023 and went into effect on 01/01/2024. The Immigrant Legal Resource Cen

Crimes and categorical approach Family-based practice Consular practice Cross-forum Direct PDF
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National Immigration Project Practice advisory Dec 21, 2023

Practice Advisory: Navigating Family-Based Claims Following Matter of M-R-M-S

On December 1, 2023, the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a precedential decision, Matter of M‑R‑M‑S‑, 28 I&N Dec. 757 (BIA 2023), which purports to narrow the circumstances in which asylum seekers can prove that their membership in a family-based particular social group can meet the “one central reason” nexus standard. This practice advisory discusses the BIA opinion, explains how it intersects with existing court of appeals case law, and provides practical tips for practitioners on how to f

Asylum Family-based practice BIA appeals BIA Court of appeals Direct PDF
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Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Dec 15, 2023

What to Do When ICE Submits an I-213 in Immigration Court

This practice advisory addresses what a practitioner can and should do when DHS submits an I-213 to prove “alienage” or any other facts in a case. After a brief discussion of the purpose of an I-213 and why DHS often submits it during removal proceedings, this advisory discusses objections that practitioners should consider making in order to exclude the I-213 from the record in removal proceedings or, at a minimum, to argue that the I-213 should not be given any significant weight by the immigr

Removal defense Immigration court Direct PDF
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Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Dec 12, 2023

"Particularly Serious Crime" Bars to Asylum and Withholding

This advisory analyzes and explains the particularly serious crime bar to asylum and withholding of removal. It describes the factors to consider in determining whether a crime is a "particularly serious crime" and how to challenge a particularly serious crime determination.

Asylum Withholding / CAT Removal defense Cross-forum Direct PDF
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American Immigration Council Practice advisory Nov 28, 2023

Common Tools of Statutory Construction for Criminal Removal Grounds

This practice advisory describes some of the common tools of statutory construction to assist practitioners in advocating for narrow definitions of generic criminal removal grounds before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and the U.S. courts of appeals. To determine whether a criminal conviction renders a noncitizen removable under federal immigration law, federal courts and the BIA generally employ the categorical approach. Under this approach, adjudicators consider whether the elements of

Removal defense Crimes and categorical approach BIA appeals BIA Direct PDF
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Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Oct 10, 2023

Inadmissibility After Applying for U Nonimmigrant Status

This practice advisory covers what to do when inadmissibility factors are discovered or triggered outside the U petitioning process such as after applying for or receiving U nonimmigrant status, adjusting status through INA § 245(m), adjusting status under a different petition, or traveling outside the country.

Adjustment of status Waivers Cross-forum Direct PDF
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Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Oct 5, 2023

No Crime to Be Poor: Defending Welfare Fraud Allegations in Criminal, Administrative, and Immigration Proceedings

Allegations of “welfare fraud” and “perjury” impact low-income immigrants disproportionately and often have devastating immigration consequences if a conviction results. This practice advisory explains how such allegations and criminal charges impact noncitizens, and are actually more often than not based on benefit caseworker errors, misunderstandings, and miscommunications, including language and literacy barriers, confusing and conflicting benefits program rules, and stem from historically en

Crimes and categorical approach Cross-forum Direct PDF
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Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Oct 2, 2023

FOIA Requests at DHS

This practice advisory will review current practice in filing FOIA requests with DHS, including recent changes to FOIA filing with USCIS, ICE, CBP, and OBIM. Overall, DHS has been transitioning to online filing, but paper filing, including use of Form G-639, also remains an option. DHS revised the Form G-639 in November 2022. This advisory also describes the form revisions.

Evidence and procedure USCIS Direct PDF
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Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Sep 27, 2023

Practice Alert: Recent Developments in the DACA Litigation

On September 13, 2023, Judge Andrew S. Hanen, a federal judge in the Southern District of Texas, ruled that the Biden administration’s final DACA rule, issued in August 2022, is unlawful. Judge Hanen previously ruled in July 2021 that the 2012 DACA memorandum, which preceded the rule, was. His earlier ruling was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, but the appellate court sent the case back to Judge Hanen to consider whether there are any material differences between the

BIA appeals Federal court BIA Court of appeals Direct PDF
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