BIA Edge

Practice resources

Practice resources

Immigration Practice Resources

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

More filters
Clear all
892 resources 24 sources 826 direct files
Common starting points
Immigration court deadline 606 Asylum merits package 93 Motions, stays, and pretermission 133 Bond, detention, and habeas 79 BIA, PFR, and federal court 447 USCIS and AAO appeals 209 Crim-imm screening 151 VAWA, U, T, and survivor relief 190
Topic: BIA appeals Clear Workflow: Asylum merits package Clear

Results

Showing 1-10 of 10 resources.

Sorted by Newest first
National Immigration Project Template motion Mar 13, 2026

Template BIA Notice of Appeal for CARR and HAAV Pretermissions

Immigration judges continue to pretermit asylum applications and deny asylum seekers a day in court, based on alleged deficiencies in the I-589 and/or based on the alleged failure to state a prima facie case for relief. This template is designed to give practitioners a strong starting point for drafting their own Notices of Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Asylum BIA appeals Immigration court BIA Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
National Immigration Project Practice advisory Aug 27, 2025

O.C.V. v. Bondi: Tenth Circuit Vacates Matter of M-R-M-S-

On August 26, 2025, the Tenth Circuit issued a published decision, O.C.V. v. Bondi , vacating the Board of Immigration Appeals presidential decision Matter of M-R-M-S- , which had wrongfully held that if a persecutor had any motivation other than animus toward the family group, an asylum seeker could not prevail on a family-based asylum claim. The Tenth Circuit rejected this narrowed definition of nexus. The case was litigated in federal court by the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies and the

Asylum Detention / bond Family-based practice BIA Court of appeals Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
National Immigration Project Practice advisory Jul 25, 2025

Fighting for a Day in Court: Understanding and Responding to Pretermission of Asylum Applications

Immigration Judges have increasingly begun to pretermit asylum applications--often ordering asylum seekers removed without ever having a chance to have a hearing on their claims. This Practice Advisory (PA) discusses a recent Policy Memo by the Executive Office for Immigration Review Acting Director and a recent Board of Immigration Appeals decision, which have prompted judges to pretermit cases. The PA also contains practical tips on how to fight this practice.

Asylum Removal defense BIA appeals Immigration court BIA Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Apr 17, 2025

Who Has Initial Jurisdiction Over UC Asylum Claims? Matter of M-A-C-O- and JOP v. DHS

The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 confers initial jurisdiction over asylum claims filed by unaccompanied children (UCs) to the asylum office. The Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision in Matter of M-A-C-O- , along with policy changes implemented during the first Trump administration, sought to strip away this crucial protection from many child asylum seekers. Because of these changes and legal challenges by immigrant youth advocates, the current landscape of initial

Asylum BIA appeals Children and SIJS BIA Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
NIWAP Library Resource directory Apr 25, 2024

Gender-Based Asylum

Vallabhaneni (September 27 2001) Board of Immigration Appeals. NOW Legal Defense Fund and others filed this amicus in support of the appeal by Aruna C. Vallabhaneni of the decision of the Immigration Judge denying her application for political asylum despite an undisputed record of years of severe domestic violence and her inability to obtain protection from the government of India. The record before the judge established that Ms. Vallabhaneni was persecuted in the past and that she has a well-f

Asylum BIA appeals Immigration court BIA
Open source Record
NIWAP Library Resource directory Apr 25, 2024

Trauma, Testimony, and Child Brain Development

BIA Amicus Invitation 2016-0609 (September 1 2016) Board of Immigration Appeals, NIWAP, Crowell and Moring. NIWAP and The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service submitted this amicus brief to the Board of Immigration Appeals discussing the brain development and neuroscience of how having experienced or witnessed trauma impacts the brain development of children and adolescents. The brief argues that in cases of child asylum applicants’ waivers of the one-year deadline based on extraordinary cir

Asylum Waivers BIA appeals BIA
Open source Record
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
Direct PDF Source page Record
Immigrant Legal Resource Center Chart Nov 21, 2023

Qualifying for Protection Under the Convention Against Torture

Protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) is an important relief option for individuals who are unable to qualify for asylum or withholding of removal. This advisory reviews the legal standard for CAT protection. It also provides an overview of seminal Board of Immigration Appeals and federal circuit court decisions that discuss the various elements of a CAT claim. The end of the advisory contains a useful chart which compares asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT.

Asylum Withholding / CAT Removal defense BIA Court of appeals Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
NIWAP Library Amicus brief Oct 24, 2023

In The Matter of: Suyi Varquero-Cubias

In The Matter of: Suyi Varquero-Cubias (April 5 2016) Board of Immigration Appeals. NIWAP, represented by Tahirih Justice Center and Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, participated filed this brief in a case of a battered immigrant from El Salvador who separated from her abusive boyfriend and her abuser continued to stalk, sexually assault, and threaten her for the next two years until she fled in fear of her life for the United States. The Immigration Judge denied her asylum case based on t

Asylum BIA appeals Immigration court BIA Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
NIWAP Library Amicus brief Sep 20, 2023

Nelsa Rosa Hernandez Cabrera; A.J.E.H. v. U.S. US Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit

Nelsa Rosa Hernandez Cabrera; A.J.E.H. v. U.S., NIWAP filed an amicus curiae on behalf of Nelsa Rosa Hernandez Cabrera; A.J.E.H., the petitioner is a domestic violence victim, from Honduras, who suffered physical abuse and enormous amount of control from her husband. The amicus will be filed in the Fourth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals in a case that Hernandez Cabrera is seeking to overturn a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals that denied her request seeking asylum. Winston & Strawn

Asylum BIA appeals Federal court BIA Court of appeals Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record