BIA

Board of Immigration Appeals

# Asylum Office# Asylum Seekers# BIA# Immigration Court

The Time to Pay the Asylum Fee Is Now

Last year, the One Big Beautiful Bill created a filing fee for asylum and an annual fee that asylum seekers must pay each year their application is pending. Unfortunately, the roll out of the fee payment system was a mess. It was impossible to pay the fee unless you first received a notice from USCIS or EOIR (the Executive Office for Immigration Review–the office that oversees our nation’s Immigration Courts), but some people were able to pay without receiving a notice. Other people were not able to pay even with the notice. Many people never received a notice at all. The fee was temporarily paused by a lawsuit, but then went back into effect. In short, the whole annual asylum fee (AAF) system is confusing. It’s also frightening, since failure to pay could result in your asylum case being denied.

For many asylum seekers, the window to pay the AAF closed before they could pay (or before they even knew they were required to pay). Recently, however, the window has reopened for some affirmative asylum seekers, and they have been able to pay the fee. Of course, this happened without an announcement from USCIS; we know about it only because some asylum seekers have reported that they are now able to pay the fee. We do not know how long the payment window will remain open, and so if you have not yet paid the AAF, the time to do that is now.

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By Jason Dzubow
# BIA# Federal Courts

Board of Imitation Appeals

The BIA was meant to be the “Supreme Court of immigration,” reviewing decisions by Immigration Judges and USCIS, interpreting the law, and setting precedents. It never quite worked out that way, as the Board has always been overwhelmed, understaffed, and has consistently failed to issue sufficient guidance to the nation’s Immigration Courts. But for all its flaws, the Board offered a modicum of hope that incorrect decisions could be corrected on appeal.

Now, however, new rules will change the way the Board of Immigration Appeals does business. These rules are meant to make the BIA into a rubber stamp for IJ decisions and will almost entirely eliminate due process for non-citizens at the administrative appellate level.

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By Jason Dzubow
# BIA# Detention# Federal Courts# Immigration# Published Decisions

The Latest Bad News (and a Few Silver Linings)

It’s not easy these days to find good news in immigration world. Families torn apart, Constitutional protections under siege, humanitarian migrants sent to random third countries, work places raided, detention centers filled beyond capacity, &tc., &tc. It’s difficult to keep up with all the negative developments, but two decisions from earlier this month stand out–one from the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and another from the U.S. Supreme Court. These decisions are particularly pernicious and will potentially harm millions of people. 

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylum Seekers# BIA# Immigration# Immigration Court

Freedom Isn’t Free – It’s Very Expensive

By now, you’ve probably heard that USCIS and EOIR (the Executive Office for Immigration Review – the office that oversees our nation’s Immigration Courts) have dramatically increased fees for many applications.

It seems to me that one purpose of these new fees is to make it unaffordable for non-citizens to obtain status in the United States. Another purpose is to make it more difficult for non-profits to assist indigent people seeking protection in our country. 

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By Jason Dzubow
# BIA# Immigration# Immigration Court

Do You Have a Pulse? Congratulations! You’re Qualified to be an Immigration Judge!

A new final rule from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the office that oversees our nation’s Immigration Court system, has substantially relaxed the requirements for serving as a Temporary Immigration Judge. Under this rule, people with little or no immigration experience can decide whether asylum seekers and other non-citizens are entitled to remain in the United States or must be deported. 

Adding insult to injury, the rule also changes the language in the Code of Federal Regulations, and so now, instead of the term “noncitizens,” the CFR will refer to “aliens.” 

Here, we’ll discuss these changes, and how they might impact “aliens” in Immigration Court. 

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylum Seekers# BIA

Female Asylum Seekers Need Not Apply

A new decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) seeks to restrict the ability of women to obtain asylum on account of gender-based harm. See Matter of K-E-S-G-, 29 I&N Dec. 145 (BIA 2025) (holding that “Salvadoran women” and “Salvadoran women viewed as property” were not viable particular social groups). This is just one in a series of recent decisions by the BIA to limit asylum and restrict other types of immigration benefits.

Among these decisions, Matter of K-E-S-G- stands out for its broad reach and because it potentially closes the door to protection for many vulnerable women (and some vulnerable men). At the same time, Matter of K-E-S-G- is not a particularly surprising decision, given that the BIA and the federal courts have long struggled with providing protection (or not) to victims of gender-based violence. 

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By Jason Dzubow
# BIA# Immigration Court

“Massacre” at the BIA Portends Bigger Changes at EOIR

Last week, 13 of 28 members of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) were purged. Those targeted include appellate judges appointed by the Biden Administration, some of whom were still on probation (BIA judges have a two-year probationary period) and others who had completed their probation. The firings, which go into effect next month, seem not to have complied with proper legal procedures, and are likely to be challenged in court by at least some of the terminated judges.  

Having talked with people on the inside, this mass firing sounds like it is only the beginning. I’m told that the Trump Administration plans to radically re-make the Immigration Court system in order to dramatically reduce due process protections for non-citizens.

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylum# Asylum Office# Asylum Seekers# BIA# Immigration Court

The Republican Party Platform and Asylum

The Republican Party has released its Platform for 2024. As usual with these things, it is short on specifics and long on political rhetoric. The first issue mentioned in the Platform is immigration: “Common Sense tells us clearly, in President Trump’s words, that ‘If we don’t have a Border, we don’t have a Country.'” It continues: “We must not allow Biden’s Migrant Invasion to alter our Country.” “Under the Trump Administration and a Republican Congress, it will be defeated immediately.” But how?

The Platform has a six-part plan “to stop the open-border policies that have opened the floodgates to a tidal wave of illegal Aliens, deadly drugs, and Migrant Crime.” Here, we’ll take a look at the plan and I will offer some thoughts.

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By Jason Dzubow
# BIA

What Happens at the Board of Immigration Appeals?

Here’s a hopefully hypothetical scenario: You apply for asylum (or some other relief) in Immigration Court and the judge denies your case. What do you do?

The losing party in Immigration Court has the right to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which is a higher court that reviews the decision of the Immigration Judge (IJ) to determine whether the IJ made a mistake. If you “win” your appeal, the BIA will explain the IJ’s error and “remand” (send back) the case to the judge to issue a new decision.

Today, we’ll discuss how to evaluate your chances for success on appeal, how the appeals process works, and what happens if you win or lose the appeal.

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By Jason Dzubow
# BIA

On Appeal at the BIA

If you lose your case in Immigration Court, you can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). Conversely, if you win your case and the DHS attorney (the prosecutor) is unhappy with that outcome, DHS can appeal. Here, we’ll talk about what happens during an appeal to the BIA. Once the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) … Read more

By Jason Dzubow