Waivers and Relief from Deportation

Screening Potential DACA Requestors for Other Forms of Relief
This Practice Advisory is designed to assist attorneys in determining whether individuals seeking Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals might be eligible for immigration benefits. Read More

Implications of Judulang v. Holder for LPRs Seeking § 212(c) Relief and for Other Individuals Challenging Arbitrary Agency Policies
This Practice Advisory describes the Supreme Court’s decision in Judulang v. Holder, which rejected the BIA's "comparable grounds" test for § 212(c) relief, and offers strategies for lawful permanent residents and others who may be affected by it. Read More

DHS Secretary Johnson Discusses Border Security, Executive Action, Refugees and PEP
On Thursday, Secretary Jeh Johnson of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) addressed the 12th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference, covering a wide-range of topics, from border security to the new Priority Enforcement Program (PEP) to executive action and refugees. Secretary Johnson began his remarks calling attention to… Read More

Will the Guidance on Extreme Hardship Waivers Allow More Individuals to Become Permanent Residents?
This week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued draft guidance on what constitutes “extreme hardship” for purposes of an immigration waiver. The much anticipated guidance is a component of the Administration’s executive actions on immigration announced in November 2014. Many had hoped that the guidance, and its potential… Read More

Immigration Appeals Court Reverses Position on Deportation Waivers
In a decision issued last week, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) reversed course and decided that a subset of Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) who have been convicted of certain crimes may now have an opportunity to avoid deportation by proving to an immigration judge that their removal would cause… Read More

How New Guidance Improves a Waiver Program to Limit Family Separations
When President Obama announced his executive actions on immigration in November, much of the focus was on the new temporary immigration protections, namely the deferred action programs (called DACA and DAPA). Of all of the announced reforms, DACA and DAPA certainly will affect the greatest number of people, with… Read More

The President’s Discretion, Immigration Enforcement, and the Rule of Law
The President has the legal authority to make a significant number of unauthorized migrants eligible for temporary relief from deportation that would be similar to the relief available under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Read More

Immigration Council Urges Broad Interpretation of § 212(h) Hardship Waiver
On May 19, 2014, the American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) filed an amicus curiae brief urging the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to rehear Roberts v. Holder, 745 F.3d 928 (8th Cir. 2014). In that case, the court narrowly interpreted the hardship waiver… Read More

What Does More Discretion and Less Deportation Look Like?
Following President Obama’s announcement that administration officials will review enforcement policies to see how to make them more humane, NBC News reports that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has compiled a list of recommendations for Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on what actions could be taken to slow… Read More

Justice Department’s Losing Battle Over Deportation Waivers for Permanent Residents
For more than five years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has defended a policy that deprives long-term lawful permanent residents (LPRs) of the opportunity to apply for a waiver that would allow them to remain in the United States. The waiver—known as the 212(h) waiver (referring to section 212(h)… Read More
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