Cases & Decisions, DOJ/EOIR Cases
The BIA held that, when mailing a Notice to Appear (NTA) by regular mail, DHS can rely on the most recent address the noncitizen provided, and that written notice of in absentia proceedings is sufficient if mailed to the most recent address provided. Matter of Diji, 30 I&N Dec. 1 (BIA 2026)
Accessible to: Member, Student, Govt/Policy, Paralegal.
AILA Announcements
Stay ahead of evolving consular challenges with AILA’s updated Consular Practice Handbook. Get practical guidance on heightened scrutiny, changing policies, visa delays, complex cases, adverse decisions, and other essential insights for today’s consular practice. Get your copy today.
9/9/26
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
ICE posted the HSI Emergency Driving Handbook (HSI HB 26-04), dated 7/22/26. It provides policies, procedures, responsibilities, guidelines, and controls for HSI Special Agents and other officers to follow “when engaging in emergency driving while enforcing laws within the scope of their authority.”
9/8/26
AILA Doc. No. 26090813.
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
SAVE and E-Verify posted updates on the status of EADs for TPS holders from Sudan. Sudan's TPS designation and related benefits are set to terminate on 10/19/26. EADs issued under this designation are extended until 10/19/26.
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
SAVE and E-Verify posted updates on the status of EADs for TPS holders from Ukraine. TPS designation of Ukraine and related benefits are set to terminate on 10/19/26. EADs issued under this designation are extended until 10/19/26.
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
EOIR Acting Director Sirce E. Owen issued policy memorandum (PM) 26-07 establishing a uniform policy for the processing of voluntary, in-person duty station transfer requests by EOIR adjudicators.
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
SAVE and E-Verify posted updated on the status of EADs for TPS holders from El Salvador. TPS designation of El Salvador and related benefits are set to terminate on 9/9/26. EADs issued under this designation are extended until 9/9/26.
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
USCIS announced it will comply, pending further litigation, with the 8/28/26 district court order in Medani v. Trump temporarily vacating PM-602-0193 and requiring USCIS to resume adjudicating pending adjustment of status applications under the FY26 DV Program for members of the certified class.
Accessible to Public.
AILA Announcements
Oppose USCIS’s proposed $103,265 H-1B cap-subject petition fee. Use AILA’s Advocacy tool to submit your personalized comment by September 24.
Accessible to Public.
AILA Blog
AILA Member Gunda Brost describes recent efforts by the Trump Administration to impose fines on individuals and businesses, writing that such notices “are essentially legal proceedings—not simply bills” and that one must “respond in a timely manner or important rights could be lost.”
Accessible to Public.
AILA Announcements
As worksite enforcement and employer sanctions laws expand, this updated handbook helps employers comply with Form I-9 and E-Verify requirements. This resource features Q&A guidance, flowcharts, checklists, and sample documents. Order today.
9/8/26
Accessible to Public.
Federal Agencies
On September 2, 2026, EOIR conducted an online training that instructed immigration judges on handling requests for continuances. AILA has obtained documents from this training, which have not been released by EOIR.
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
DHS announced an IFR to expand regulations allowing certain U.S.-born children of foreign diplomatic officers to register as lawful permanent residents to apply to certain children of foreign government employees. An advance copy is available, and DHS amended Form I-485 to reflect the change.
Accessible to Public.
Cases & Decisions, DOJ/EOIR Cases
The BIA held that the IJ erred in finding the respondent credible and granting asylum based on his claimed fear of the Taliban in Afghanistan without adequately addressing numerous record inconsistencies, including his credible fear interview. Matter of A–Q–R–K–, 29 I&N Dec. 865 (BIA 2026)
Accessible to: Member, Student, Govt/Policy, Paralegal.
Immigration News
Aggregated local and national media coverage of major immigration law news stories being discussed throughout the U.S. on September 8, 2026.
9/8/26
Accessible to Public.
Practice Resources
Following litigation filed by AILA and its members, USCIS will provide a 30-day grace period for the new Forms I-864, I-864A, and I-864EZ. The 8/24/26 version of these forms will be required beginning on October 1, 2026.
Accessible to: Member, Student, Paralegal.
AILA Announcements
As worksite enforcement and employer sanctions laws expand, this updated handbook helps employers comply with Form I-9 and E-Verify requirements. Features Q&A guidance, flowcharts, checklists, and sample documents. Order today.
9/8/26
Accessible to Public.
AILA Announcements
AILA’s U.S. Citizenship and Naturalization Law Toolbox provides guidance on citizenship and naturalization matters, including eligibility, good moral character determinations, denaturalization, interviews, USCIS denials, and citizenship-related tax issues. Grab your copy today.
9/4/26
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
DOJ Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a legal opinion stating that when a state chooses to participate in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs, all state agencies must report known unlawfully present individuals to DHS.
9/3/26
AILA Doc. No. 26090309.
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
OFLC released a notice that certain employers may be required to make back wage adjustment payments, in compliance with the 8/26/26 order in United Farm Workers v. DOL. The suit challenges the 10/2/25 IFR that established methodology for calculating AEWRs for H–2A Workers in Non-Range Occupations.
Accessible to Public.
AILA Governance
AILA Chapter dues are not deductible as a charitable contribution for federal income tax purposes, although a portion of your Chapter dues may be deductible as a business expense.
9/3/26
AILA Doc. No. 99900695.
Accessible to: Member.
Amicus Briefs/Alerts
AILA argued that adjustment of status is a legal term of art and that Congress did not require applicants under the asylee adjustment statute to maintain current asylum status. (Wassily v. Bondi, 8/31/26)
Accessible to Public.
AILA Public Statements, Press Releases
AILA and immigration law firm Benach Pitney Reilly sued the Trump Administration in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia for implementing substantive form changes again, without warning, that will harm potentially thousands of AILA members and their clients.
Accessible to Public.
Federal Court Cases
AILA and immigration law firm Benach Pitney Reilly sued the Trump Administration on behalf of our members for implementing new editions of Forms I-864, I-864A, and I-864EZ on 8/31/26 without any warning or grace period. (AILA v. USCIS, 9/3/26)
Accessible to Public.
Amicus Briefs/Alerts
AILA argued that procedural errors undermined the fairness of removal proceedings. The brief contends that limits on record development, improper BIA fact-finding, and legal errors prevented meaningful review. (Khalil v. Blanche, 8/28/26)
Accessible to Public.
Immigration News
Aggregated local and national media coverage of major immigration law news stories being discussed throughout the U.S. on September 3, 2026.
9/3/26
Accessible to Public.
Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases
The court held a noncitizen is not inadmissible under INA §212(a)(2)(A)(i) based on a vacated conviction, declining to follow Matter of Pickering, and that the regulations governing the timing of voluntary departure are not arbitrary and capricious. (Yanez Piedra v. Blanche, 8/24/26)
Accessible to: Member, Student, Govt/Policy, Paralegal.
Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases
The court held that a petition for review challenging only the denial of CAT deferral was moot upon petitioner’s removal to El Salvador, because the reentry bar is not a collateral consequence of CAT denial and ICE Directive No. 11061.1 did not apply. (Mejia-Henriquez v. Att’y Gen., 8/25/26)
Accessible to: Member, Student, Govt/Policy, Paralegal.
Professional Resources
The Practice & Professionalism Center explains why the Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook, is the cornerstone of your competency to practice immigration law and highlights the newest research on digital versus paper comprehension.
Accessible to: Member, Student, Paralegal.
Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases
The court upheld the BIA’s conclusion that a form order granting a relative asylum, without reasoning or facts, showed no prima facie eligibility for asylum, and found that the Brazilian petitioners showed neither past persecution nor a well-founded fear. (Pereira Alves v. Blanche, 8/24/26)
Accessible to: Member, Student, Govt/Policy, Paralegal.
AILA Announcements
Stay current on the latest developments in crimmigration law. Mary E. Kramer’s Immigration Consequences of Criminal Activity, 11th ed. offers practical strategies for navigating detention, removal, plea negotiations, and relief options. Order your copy today.
9/3/26
Accessible to Public.
Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases
The court held that no remand was needed where the IJ applied First Circuit law in the alternative and the BIA adopted it, that the adjustment and asylum-timeliness rulings were unreviewable, and that the Jamaican petitioner’s proposed PSG was not cognizable. (Bromfield v. Blanche, 8/25/26)
Accessible to: Member, Student, Govt/Policy, Paralegal.
Cases & Decisions, DOJ/EOIR Cases
The BIA held that DHS properly imposed a civil monetary penalty after the respondent failed to depart the United States in compliance with his voluntary departure order, and that INA §240B(d)(1) does not require the failure to depart to be willful. Matter of R–P–L–, 29 I&N Dec. 859 (BIA 2026)
Accessible to: Member, Student, Govt/Policy, Paralegal.
Practice Resources
On August 24, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order in Red Eagle Law, L.C., et al., v. Joseph B. Edlow, which orders USCIS to adjudicate applications received from individuals from the travel ban countries previously subject to the pause.
Accessible to: Member, Student, Paralegal.
Immigration News
Monthly newsletter brought to you by the members of the Family Section Steering Committee
The content of this email was created by Kathleen Irish, the AILA Family Section Chair, along with the assistance of other members of the Family Section Steering Committee.
Accessible to: Member, Student, Paralegal.
Practice Resources
DOS announced starting January 21, 2026, it will stop immigration visa processing for applicants from 75 countries. Applicants will still be allowed to submit applications and attend scheduled interviews, but no new visas will be issued. On August 21, 2026, a federal judge struck down the pause.
Accessible to: Member, Student, Paralegal.
TRAC reports that in June 2026, 94% of asylum cases decided were denied. Immigration judges granted only 771 individuals asylum during that period—less than a quarter of the number of individuals awarded asylum just three years ago.
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
EOIR announced the swearing in of a regional deputy chief immigration judge within the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, an administrative law judge within the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, 35 immigration judges, and 3 temporary immigration judges.
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
USCIS issued a policy alert (PA-2026-11) to rescind PA-2025-21 and reinstate earlier Policy Manual guidance allowing nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations to distribute and collect voter registration applications and register new citizens to vote at administrative naturalization ceremonies.
Accessible to Public.
AILA Announcements
Can executive action create new pathways where statutes set limits? Divij Kishore analyzes the legal viability of the Trump Gold Card and what it means for immigration law and policy. Read the article today—free to AILA members.
9/2/26
Accessible to Public.
AILA Announcements
Stay ahead of the ethical issues facing today’s immigration practitioners with AILA Ethics Compendium: Modern Legal Ethics for Immigration Lawyers. This resource applies professional conduct rules to immigration law through practical analysis and real-world scenarios. Order your copy today.
9/2/26
Accessible to Public.
Immigration News
Aggregated local and national media coverage of major immigration law news stories being discussed throughout the U.S. on September 2, 2026.
9/2/26
Accessible to Public.
AILA Announcements
Learn how AILALink is the perfect tool for electronic access to the books and other research resources you need. Sign up for our next group training at 2:00 pm (ET) on Tuesday, October 6.
9/1/26
AILA Doc. No. 15082740.
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
CBP announced that effective 8/31/26 at 11:59 pm (ET), George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), in Houston, TX, is no longer a designated airport for flights to the United States carrying persons who were recently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, or South Sudan.
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
DOS announced that, in accordance with the 8/28/26 district court order in Medani v. Trump, the pause of diversity visa issuance is no longer in effect.
Accessible to Public.
Agency Memos & Announcements
DOS announced that, in accordance with the 8/21/26 district court order in CLINIC v. Rubio, the pause of immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries is no longer in effect.
Accessible to Public.
Practice Resources
The EB-5 Committee has noticed a trend where USCIS is transferring pending Form I-485s from California Service Center to Texas Service Center, with a substantial portion of transferred cases receiving RFEs for medical exams.
Accessible to: Member, Student, Paralegal.
Practice Resources
The DOS Liaison Committee provides a briefing on the contents of the September 2026 visa bulletin, noting anecdotal reports of EB-2 unavailability, and the recent cancellations of IV interviews. The briefing also provides a look ahead to fiscal year 2027.
Accessible to: Member, Student, Paralegal.
Federal Court Cases
USCIS announced it will comply with the 8/24/26 district court order in Red Eagle Law v. Edlow that temporarily lifts asylum and benefit adjudication holds for nationals of the 39 travel ban countries and Palestinian authority imposed by PMs 602-0192 and 602-0194, pending further litigation.
Accessible to Public.
Cases & Decisions
The court certified a class of nationals of the 39 travel ban countries and Palestinian authority whose pending asylum or benefit applications are subject to the adjudication hold in PM-602-0192 or PM-602-0194 and granted a preliminary injunction against the hold. (Red Eagle Law v. Edlow, 8/24/26)
Accessible to Public.