Tagged #bia-precedent
Every article we've published on this topic, sorted by the agency's own announcement date.
Fourth Circuit Rejects BIA Framework: Vacated Convictions Cannot Trigger Immigration Inadmissibility
The Fourth Circuit ruled that vacated convictions cannot render a noncitizen inadmissible, overturning decades of Board of Immigration Appeals precedent. Practitioners in the Fourth Circuit must now apply the new rule.
USCIS warns: Advance Parole travel now risks 3- to 10-year re-entry bars
A new BIA ruling changes the legal treatment of Advance Parole departures, exposing travelers with prior unlawful presence to serious re-entry bars for the first time in over a decade.
BIA Overturns Advance Parole Precedent, Blocking DACA Green Card Path
The Board of Immigration Appeals overruled a 14-year-old precedent, holding that advance parole travel now triggers unlawful presence bars for DACA holders seeking adjustment of status.
BIA Holds Advance Parole Travel Can Trigger Unlawful-Presence Bar
New BIA precedential decision overrules 14-year-old precedent: advance parole departure now triggers three- and ten-year unlawful-presence bars under INA 212(a)(9)(B). Practitioners must reassess travel risk for clients with prior unlawful presence.
Board of Immigration Appeals Reverses 30 Years of Bond Precedent
A recent BIA decision reinterprets the INA to deny bond hearings to noncitizens with U.S. residence arrested by ICE. One detainee is now fighting the ruling in federal court.
Five Immigration Policy Scoops Everyone Else Missed
From immigration court fees with no waivers to a new BIA stay requirement, five recent policy changes practitioners need to know about—and how they reshape case strategy.
BIA Ruling Denies Bond Hearings for All Immigrants Who Entered Without Inspection
The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that noncitizens who entered the country without prior authorization are ineligible for bond hearings and must remain detained throughout removal proceedings.
Board of Immigration Appeals shifts rules, accelerating deportations
The reconstituted Board of Immigration Appeals has tightened procedural rules and issued dozens of precedential decisions favoring deportation, reshaping how immigration judges handle asylum, bond, and relief cases.
BIA Decision Blocks Green Card Path for Recently Arrived Cubans Under Conditional Parole
Matter of Cabrera-Fernandez holds that noncitizens released on conditional parole rather than humanitarian parole cannot adjust status under the Cuban Adjustment Act, affecting thousands seeking legal permanent resident status.
BIA Precedent: Consider Aliens' Crimes, Not Convictions, in Exercising Discretionary Relief
A new BIA precedent holds that immigration judges must examine an alien's actual criminal conduct—not just convictions—when exercising the attorney general's discretion to grant cancellation of removal or other discretionary relief.
BIA Precedent Decision Removes Deportation Protection for DACA Recipients
A Board of Immigration Appeals decision eliminates DACA as a basis to terminate removal proceedings, while USCIS renewal delays put thousands at risk of losing work authorization.
BIA Requires In Absentia Removal Orders in Failure-to-Appear Cases
Board of Immigration Appeals clarifies that immigration judges must enter removal orders when respondents fail to appear, limiting scope of dismissal and closure discretion.
Board of Immigration Appeals rules DACA status alone insufficient to avoid deportation
A BIA precedent decision in Matter of Santiago establishes that active DACA status is not a standalone ground for relief from removal, affecting hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries.
BIA Precedent: DACA Status Alone Won't Block Removal
The Board of Immigration Appeals has ruled that immigration judges cannot terminate removal proceedings based solely on DACA status. Practitioners must now develop additional arguments on discretionary factors.
Board of Immigration Appeals Limits DACA Dismissal Authority in Removal Proceedings
The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that immigration judges cannot dismiss deportation cases solely on DACA status. What this precedent means for DACA recipients in removal proceedings.
BIA Reverses Decade-Old Fraud Waiver Precedent in Matter of Fortjoe
The Board of Immigration Appeals has overturned a longstanding precedent that broadly waived fraud grounds of removability, clarifying eligibility for section 237(a)(1)(H) waivers and affecting removal defense strategy.
BIA Ruling: DACA Status Alone Cannot Justify Removal Case Termination
The Board of Immigration Appeals clarifies that immigration judges cannot terminate removal cases for DACA recipients based solely on their deferred action status. Judges must consider DHS opposition and apply May 2024 regulatory requirements.
BIA: DACA Status Alone Cannot Terminate Removal Proceedings
A new Board of Immigration Appeals precedent holds that immigration judges must consider DHS opposition and other discretionary factors before terminating removal cases for DACA recipients—DACA is relevant but not dispositive.
BIA: DACA status alone won't stop deportation—judges must weigh DHS objections
A April 2026 Board of Immigration Appeals decision eliminates automatic case dismissal for DACA holders. Immigration judges must now consider government removal arguments even if applicant has valid deferred action. Practitioners must pivot strategy.
BIA Decision on DACA and Removal Proceedings: What Changed
A Board of Immigration Appeals precedent decision issued April 24, 2026 requires immigration judges to explicitly consider government arguments when ruling on termination motions based on DACA status. The decision preserves DACA protection but changes litigation procedure.
The Board of Immigration Appeals is reshaping immigration law through precedent decisions
The Trump administration has reshaped the Board of Immigration Appeals to issue binding precedent decisions that restrict bond eligibility and asylum relief, fundamentally changing how immigration judges nationwide adjudicate cases.
Matter of Tepec-Garcia: BIA Holds IJ May Terminate When Neither Party Appears
The Board of Immigration Appeals clarifies that immigration judges may terminate removal proceedings without prejudice when neither the respondent nor DHS appears and no evidence of removability is pre-filed.
Board of Immigration Appeals expands third-country deportations for asylum seekers
A new Board of Immigration Appeals ruling makes it easier for DHS to deport asylum seekers to countries they have never visited, before their asylum cases are heard on the merits.
BIA Sets Threshold Screening Standard for Honduras ACA Asylum Bars
The Board of Immigration Appeals in Matter of C-I-G-M- & L-V-S-G- mandates that immigration judges resolve safe third country bars before hearing asylum merits, shifting litigation strategy for practitioners facing DHS motions to pretermit.
BIA Ruling: Immigration Judge Cannot Terminate Withholding-Only Cases Over DHS Objection
The Board of Immigration Appeals reversed an improper termination of a withholding-only removal case, clarifying that judges cannot terminate such proceedings without Department of Homeland Security consent and that humanitarian reasons alone do not justify termination.
BIA Reaffirms IJ Authority to Reject Stipulations and Exercise Independent Judgment
Board of Immigration Appeals decision in Matter of J-H-M-H- signals a shift from Biden-era enforcement restrictions, reaffirming immigration judges' duty to exercise independent discretion in removal proceedings.
BIA Decision Strips Bond Hearing Rights From People Who Entered Without Inspection
The Board of Immigration Appeals in Matter of Yajure Hurtado reverses longstanding precedent, eliminating bond hearing eligibility for most noncitizens who entered without inspection—even those who have lived in the U.S. for years.
Gender-Based Violence Claims Just Got Harder: What the BIA's K-E-S-G- Decision Means
The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that sex and gender alone cannot define a particular social group in asylum claims. Learn what practitioners and clients need to do now.
First Circuit: Equitable tolling applies when delivery service misses appeal deadline
First Circuit holds that equitable tolling permits review of immigration appeals when a guaranteed overnight delivery service fails to meet its commitment, vacating BIA dismissal of asylum seeker's late-filed appeal.
BIA Opens Path to Reopen In Absentia Removals for 'Exceptional Circumstances' Caused by Traffic
Board of Immigration Appeals clarifies that traffic and severe weather can constitute exceptional circumstances to reopen removal orders entered in absentia under INA § 240(b)(5)(C), but requires strict evidentiary showing.