In assessing a Congolese citizen’s application for asylum under the Convention Against Torture, an immigration judge erred in finding his account of torture less than credible, based on alleged inconsistencies between petitioner and his former cellmate; the inconsistencies were more ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Roger L. Gregory

An undocumented alien loses her appeal of an order to deport her due to her prior Maryland conviction for arson, which counts as an “aggravated felony” under federal immigration law; the 4th Circuit denies her petition for review. Petitioner contends ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge James A. Wynn Jr.

A Virginia State Bar panel is still pondering how best to prevent criminal defendants from unwittingly creating immigration problems for themselves when they accept plea offers in misdemeanor cases. A proposal to recognize an ethical duty for prosecutors to guard ...

Tagged with: Ethics Immigration Legal Ethics Opinion Virginia State Bar

A Honduran citizen’s prior Virginia conviction of unauthorized use of a vehicle was not a “theft offense” that would qualify as an “aggravated felony” under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G); Virginia’s statute, Va. Code § 18.2-102, covers circumstances typically viewed as ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

An Egyptian national’s prior conviction for grand larceny under Va. Code § 18.2-95 does not count as an “aggravated felony” under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the 4th Circuit grants the petition for review and orders vacatur of the ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Henry F. Floyd

A new effort to ensure that immigrant criminal defendants don’t unwittingly risk deportation would impose an ethical burden on prosecutors. Prosecutors are expected to question whether they should be put in the position of advising defendants about their rights under ...

Tagged with: Criminal Immigration Legal Ethics Opinion Virginia State Bar

An alien such as petitioner, a native of Ghana, who falsely claims U.S. citizenship in seeking private employment, is inadmissible as a matter of law under the “false claim bar,” 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(C)(ii)(I); the 4th Circuit upholds the Board ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Robert B. King

The 4th Circuit grants review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision that an Afghan citizen who has lived in the U.S. most of his life is not eligible for cancellation of removal because of a crime he committed during ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker

The 4th Circuit says the Board of Immigration Appeals did not abuse its discretion in refusing to reopen removal proceedings for a Chinese citizen married to a U.S. citizen, who argues he will be persecuted under China’s one-child policy if ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Allyson K. Duncan

An Indonesian woman’s reports of four different instances when she or her family were attacked or harassed for being practicing Christians in a majority-Muslim country were not sufficient to qualify her for relief as a refugee seeking asylum or under ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker