Read case summaries of select BIA cases issued this last month.
Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)
Matter of Azrag [vacated conviction; reason for vacating]
Matter of Azrag, 28 I&N Dec. 784 (BIA 2024) - Feb. 23, 2024
Holding:
- "Where a State court order granting a respondent’s motion to vacate a conviction does not indicate the reason for the vacatur, and there is no other basis in the record to independently establish the reason, the respondent has not satisfied his burden to show that the court vacated his conviction because of a substantive or procedural defect in his criminal proceedings."
Matter of Bernardo [conditional permanent resident; Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence]
Matter of Bernardo, 28 I&N Dec. 781 (BIA 2024) - Feb. 7, 2024
Holding:
- "When a petition to remove the conditions on residence is withdrawn before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services prior to adjudication, the Immigration Judge ordinarily cannot review the merits of that petition in removal proceedings. Matter of Mendes, 20 I&N Dec. 833 (BIA 1994), followed."