Ninth Circuit Issues Favorable Decision in Petition for Review for Najarro-Portal

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued their memorandum on December 7, 2015, finding that the Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals had erred in failing to grant Mr. Najarro-Portal deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel and Unusual Treatment in Case number 13-73958.

The opinion can be found here: Ninth Circuit Memorandum

Oral Arguments at the Ninth Circuit Yesterday

I had oral arguments at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday in an immigration appeal. Narrajo-Portal v. Lynch, Case No. 13-73985. The argument was streamed live over the Internet.

The issue was whether the Immigration Judge properly denied Mr. Portal the protection under the Convention Against Torture based primarily on his adverse credibility determination. The Board of Immigration Appeals initially remanded the case back to the IJ for further consideration after finding that he had committed "clear error" in his initial determination.

The video is here:

Board of Immigration Appeals Remanded One of Our Adam Walsh Cases Back to USCIS For Further Proceedings

Last month, our office received the decision from the Board of Immigration Appeals in an Adam Walsh Case. We argued to the Board that USCIS improperly imposed the "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Standard" in determining whether the petition poses a risk to the intended beneficiary. My contention was that this standard had no underlying basis as Congress never intended to require this criminal law threshold. In most immigration matters the standard is more probable than not.

In the decision, the Board specifically asked USCIS to explain 8 items in how they reached their conclusion to deny our client's I-130 visa petition. It is my belief that this is a milestone in adjudication of these petitions because the entire process has not be thoroughly thought through and the Board is asking USCIS to do so.

Board of Immigration Appeals Decision in Walsh Act Case