Practice resources
Search immigration practice advisories, sample filings, manuals, brief banks, and government guidance from trusted practitioner sources.
This issue brief discusses qualified immunity in immigration.
Children and youth compose a significant portion of the U.S. immigrant population and often qualify for various forms of immigration relief, many of which involve an application filing fee. Under the Trump administration, USCIS promulgated a final rule intended to dramatically raise fees for many immigration application forms, including those available to young people, and would have limited access to fee waivers. The rule was blocked by federal courts, and after President Biden took office, the
This practice alert builds upon our previous practice advisory, “Advocating for Clients under the Biden Administration’s Interim Enforcement Priorities,” and provides key information, takeaways, and practice tips for advocating with OPLA.
A conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) may or may not hurt an immigrant, depending on a number of factors set out in the Immigration and Nationality Act: the number of CIMT convictions, the potential and actual sentence, when the person committed or was convicted of the offense, and the person’s immigration situation. A single CIMT conviction might cause no damage, or it might cause a variety of penalties ranging from deportability to ineligibility for relief to mandatory deten
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
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ICE enforcement priorities have changed under the Biden administration , signaling a return to the use of prosecutorial discretion. On May 27, 2021, the ICE Principal Legal Advisor issued guidance for OPLA attorneys about how and when to exercise prosecutorial discretion during various stages of removal proceedings. EOIR subsequently issued its own memo discussing EOIR policies related to the enforcement priorities. Building upon our previous practice advisory, Advocating for Clients under the B
On January 1, 2021, multiple California criminal reform laws took effect. These laws were passed to help all defendants regardless of immigration status, but they can be of special help to noncitizens. Advocates should understand how these laws may help a client’s immigration case. They include:
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Most H-4 spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants are ineligible for employment authorization and thus are financially dependent on the principal visa holder spouse. This dependence can be used as a tool for abuse and control in relationships and exacerbate domestic violence situations. INA § 106 allows survivors of domestic violence who are spouses of certain nonimmigrant visa holders to be eligible for work authorization independent of their spouse. This advisory provides an overview of employment author
This Practice Advisory provides a broad overview of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), including how to make a FOIA request and how to appeal an inadequate response. It discusses the exemptions from FOIA that agencies are most likely to invoke in immigration cases, and lays out the basics of bringing a federal district court challenge to an agency’s failure to disclose certain documents. In addition, the Practice Advisory collects the FOIA policies of the most relevant immigration agencies i
Practice advisory on the realistic-probability requirement in immigration categorical-approach litigation, including how to frame the argument and use state-law materials effectively.