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: Crimes and categorical approach Clear Workflow: BIA, PFR, and federal court Clear

Results

Showing 1-12 of 63 resources.

Sorted by Newest first
National Immigration Project Practice advisory Feb 27, 2026

Crim-Imm Case Law Updates 2025

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA or Board), the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the Supreme Court have issued many decisions in the past year that implicate the rights of noncitizens. This resource is designed to help immigration practitioners familiar with the categorical approach stay current on significant case law developments over the past year at the intersection of immigration and criminal law. This resource begins with an overview of notable case law developments before the BIA, the U.S

Crimes and categorical approach BIA appeals BIA Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Feb 10, 2026

California Penal Code § 245(a) is not a Crime of Violence

On January 13, 2026, the Ninth Circuit issued an en banc decision holding that a violation of California Penal Code § 245(a)(1) (assault with a deadly weapon) is not a crime of violence. United States v. Gomez, No. 23-435 (9th Cir., Jan. 13, 2026) (en banc). After this decision, no conviction for PC § 245(a)(1) can be an aggravated felony. For criminal defenders, the best practice is to avoid a PC § 245(a)(1) conviction until the timeline for certiorari on Gomez has expired—the ninety-day period

Crimes and categorical approach Adjustment of status Court of appeals Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
National Immigration Project Practice advisory Dec 16, 2024

Crim-Imm Case Law Updates 2024

This resource is designed to help immigration practitioners stay current on significant case law developments over the past year in the intersection of immigration and criminal law. It begins with an overview of notable case law developments before the BIA and the United States Courts of Appeals. This is followed by case summaries of all published Board of Immigration Appeals decisions addressing this area of law in 2024, along with a curated list of case summaries from the United States Courts

Crimes and categorical approach BIA appeals BIA Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
National Immigration Project Practice advisory Jun 13, 2024

Practice Advisory: Representing Immigrant Clients Affected by the Racial Bias of the Criminal Legal System: Mitigating the Effect of Past Racial Bias When Seeking Discretionary Relief and Bond

This practice advisory, along with the accompanying report, Bias in the Criminal Legal System: A Report Aggregating Social Science Research and Reporting on Racial Bias in the Criminal Legal System, and template brief , provides a framework for you to make legal arguments and introduce evidence during your client’s immigration court proceedings if they are seeking discretionary relief or requesting bond. You can use this advisory and the accompanying report to argue that the immigration judge sh

Detention / bond Crimes and categorical approach BIA appeals Immigration court BIA Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
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
Direct PDF Source page Record
American Immigration Council Practice advisory Aug 22, 2023

Practice Alert: Overview of the Supreme Court’s Decision in Pugin v. Garland

On June 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued Pugin v. Garland , 143 S. Ct. 1833 (2023), an immigration decision addressing the generic definition of the obstruction of justice aggravated felony ground at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(S). The Court held that a conviction may be an offense “relating to obstruction of justice,” even if it does not require that an investigation or proceeding be pending or reasonably foreseeable. In doing so, Pugin reversed favorable case law in the Ninth Circuit, Valenz

Crimes and categorical approach Court of appeals Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Jul 17, 2023

Obstruction of Justice: Pugin and California Offenses

Conviction of “obstruction of justice” is an aggravated felony if a sentence of a year or more is imposed. In Pugin v. Garland, No. 22-23 (June 22, 2023) , the Supreme Court overturned the Ninth Circuit’s definition of obstruction, but failed to provide a clear definition of its own. Now some California offenses are likely aggravated felonies if there is a sentence of year or more, including Penal Code §§ 32, 69, 136.1, 148, Vehicle Code § 10851, and others.

Crimes and categorical approach Court of appeals Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
National Immigration Project Practice advisory Dec 21, 2022

Crim-Imm Case Law Updates

This resource is designed to help immigration practitioners stay up to date on case law developments over the past year in the area of immigration law and crimes. It initially lists notable case law developments before the BIA and the United States Courts of Appeals. This is followed by case summaries of all published Board of Immigration Appeals decisions that address this area of law in 2022 and a case summary list of United States Courts of Appeals published decisions. The latter list focuses

Crimes and categorical approach BIA appeals BIA Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
National Immigration Project Template motion Dec 21, 2021

Equal Protection Challenges to Prosecutions Under 1325 & 1326: The Groundbreaking Decision in United States v. Carillo-Lopez

Over the past two years, federal defenders have begun challenging the laws that criminalize crossing the border — 8 U.S.C. § 1325 and 8 USC § 1326 — on the grounds that the law is racist, and therefore unconstitutional. Recently, in a case called United States v. Carrillo Lopez (“ Carrillo-Lopez ”), Judge Miranda Du in the District of Nevada agreed with this argument and granted a motion to dismiss a criminal case against a person charged with the crime of crossing the border after being previou

Crimes and categorical approach Immigration court BIA Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
National Immigration Project Practice advisory Jun 22, 2021

Borden v. United States: Supreme Court Limits Scope of “Crimes of Violence”

This practice advisory explains how Borden v. United States affects the definition of a ‘crime of violence’ for immigration law purposes. Borden effectively held that the definition of a “crime of violence” under 18 U.S.C. § 16(a), relevant to both the aggravated felony crime of violence and crime of domestic violence deportability grounds, excludes crimes with a recklessness mens rea. Borden reverses adverse case law in the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Tenth circuits. The advisory also includes a

Crimes and categorical approach Court of appeals Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record
Immigrant Defense Project Practice advisory Jun 22, 2021

Practice Advisory: Overview of Borden v. United States for Immigration Counsel (June 22, 2021) (by IDP, NIP-NLG, and NILA)

^��ľ�{��� )VYu������5&�lV.V�# ���j�W�h��ꮭ��4#陁�큖 F\�$�$��!N�Y��� )�|(�S��j�T?��x���T*U$�Ō����w��K8�������>�q���qy]>�F�'Rb2A+�'�ᕖ��BZ*�%HJl)�@��=;w�e�F���Q��Ξ�@�uQ���rZ9� �v' [ v $H�l�ܝMin���z�Ȳ�>�k� KŒ@��}W��>47�����׬͖&:O� ��__[�7k ��$i�m~�Z����*%�h�0 3�B�[�3p������=�Ox^u����� �v�V�5U��_ujo3���g�����Q�8�]Jmo�v^k�F�Vq���� u�� v�q�n�RKk��"Y8Kk4⫙� ��^\#v��lm���)�S-� �i���Ka�K��ip6ʋ�i&��CF�� h�]��d ��V��Q�sCq��X��fk!�*�s��L�{�V�d���5�Y oHό��&�1��Hk6%C� �LM����'���U;u�pM

Crimes and categorical approach Removal defense Immigration court BIA Direct PDF
Direct PDF Source page Record