Firm Update No. 2025-12本所动态 2025-12 号
A Removal Case Stalled at the Board for Four Years: Remand, a Hearing, and a Green Card Granted by the Immigration Judge在移民上诉委员会停滞四年的遣返案：发回重审、开庭审理，移民法官当庭批准绿卡
- Practice领域
- Immigration移民法
- Jurisdiction管辖
- Board of Immigration Appeals; Immigration Court, New York移民上诉委员会；纽约移民法庭
- Our role本所角色
- Counsel to the respondent (substituted in 2023)被申请人律师（2023年接手）
- Status进展
- Adjustment of status granted by the Immigration Judge, Aug. 28, 2025移民法官于2025年8月28日批准调整身份
IFacts事实
The client came to the United States lawfully on a visitor visa in 2011 and applied for asylum within the first year. The asylum office referred the case to Immigration Court, and in 2020 the Immigration Judge found him credible but denied asylum and ordered him removed. Prior counsel appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals but never filed a brief, and the appeal sat. Meanwhile the client's son became a U.S. citizen and his petition for his father was approved. When the family filed for a green card with USCIS in 2022, USCIS denied it in January 2023 for lack of jurisdiction, because a removal order was on appeal. The client was stuck: USCIS would not act, and the court could not act while the Board held the case. He retained Xu Law Offices in October 2023.当事人于2011年持旅游签证合法入境，并在入境一年内申请庇护。庇护办公室将案件转交移民法庭；2020年，移民法官认定其陈述可信，但拒绝庇护并下令遣返。原律师向移民上诉委员会上诉，却从未提交上诉理由书，案件就此搁置。其间当事人之子入籍成为美国公民，为父亲提出的亲属移民申请获批。2022年家人向移民局申请绿卡，移民局于2023年1月以无管辖权为由拒绝，因遣返令仍在上诉中。当事人陷入僵局：移民局不受理，而在上诉委员会持有案件期间，移民法庭亦无法处理。2023年10月，当事人委托本所。
IIFilings, Hearings and Decisions程序经过
Substitution (late 2023). The firm substituted for prior counsel at the Board under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.17(b).更换律师（2023年底）。本所依8 C.F.R. § 1003.17(b)在上诉委员会接替原律师。
Motion to remand and motion to terminate (February 2024). The firm asked the Board to send the case back because the client had become eligible for new relief after the hearing: an approved immediate-relative petition through his citizen son. It also asked the Board to terminate the case so he could adjust with USCIS. DHS filed no opposition.发回重审动议及终止程序动议（2024年2月）。本所请求上诉委员会将案件发回，理由是当事人在原审后取得新的救济资格，即其公民儿子提出的直系亲属移民申请已获批；同时请求终止程序，以便其向移民局申请调整身份。国土安全部未提出反对。
Board decision (October 31, 2024). The Board treated the asylum issues as waived because no brief had been filed, denied termination, and granted remand for the Immigration Judge to consider adjustment of status.上诉委员会裁决（2024年10月31日）。因原律师未提交理由书，上诉委员会视庇护问题已放弃；拒绝终止程序，但批准发回，由移民法官审理调整身份申请。
Back in Immigration Court (2025). The firm contacted the court and the case was set for an individual hearing. The firm filed the green card application and affidavit of support in court, paid the fee through USCIS under the joint EOIR-USCIS instructions, sent DHS counsel an indexed evidence package, and moved for adjudication of adjustment at the hearing. The July 14, 2025 hearing was continued to August 28, 2025.回到移民法庭（2025年）。本所联系法庭，案件被排定大庭。本所在法庭提交绿卡申请及经济担保书，依移民法庭与移民局的联合指引向移民局缴费，向国土安全部律师提交附目录的证据材料，并申请在听证中审理调整身份。2025年7月14日的听证延期至8月28日。
Individual hearing (August 28, 2025). The client and his son testified. The Immigration Judge granted adjustment of status under INA § 245(a) from the bench, and both parties waived a formal oral decision.大庭（2025年8月28日）。当事人及其儿子出庭作证。移民法官当庭依INA第245(a)条批准调整身份，双方均放弃正式口头判决。
IIIQuestions Presented争议问题
(1) Jurisdiction over adjustment of status while removal proceedings are pending. (2) Remand on new eligibility for relief after the hearing. (3) Waiver of issues on appeal for failure to file a brief. (4) Adjustment of status as an immediate relative after lawful admission.（1）遣返程序待决期间调整身份的管辖。（2）原审后产生新救济资格时的发回重审。（3）未提交上诉理由书导致问题视为放弃。（4）合法入境后以直系亲属身份调整身份。
IVRelevant Law相关法律
INA § 245(a), 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a): adjustment of status; inspection and admission; admissibility; immediately available visaINA § 245(a), 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a)：身份调整；经查验入境；可入境性；签证即时可用
8 C.F.R. §§ 245.2(a)(1), 1245.2(a)(1)(i): adjudicative jurisdiction; removal proceedings; Immigration Judge jurisdiction8 C.F.R. §§ 245.2(a)(1), 1245.2(a)(1)(i)：裁决管辖权；遣返程序；移民法官管辖
8 C.F.R. § 1003.2: motion to reopen; new and material evidence; previously unavailable evidence8 C.F.R. § 1003.2：重开动议；新的重要证据；先前无法获得的证据
Matter of Coelho, 20 I&N Dec. 464 (BIA 1992): motion to remand; heavy burden; likelihood of a different resultMatter of Coelho, 20 I&N Dec. 464 (BIA 1992)：发回重审动议；较重举证责任；改变结果的可能性
Cano-Merida v. INS, 311 F.3d 960 (9th Cir. 2002): asylum eligibility; nexus; protected ground; substantial evidence reviewCano-Merida v. INS, 311 F.3d 960 (9th Cir. 2002)：庇护资格；关联性；受保护理由；实质证据审查
8 C.F.R. § 1003.17(b): withdrawal or substitution of counsel; notice of appearance8 C.F.R. § 1003.17(b)：律师退出或更换；出庭代理通知
INA § 245(c)(2): unauthorized employment bar; failure to maintain status; immediate relative exemptionINA § 245(c)(2)：非法工作禁止；未维持合法身份；直系亲属豁免
VDisposition结果
On August 28, 2025 the Immigration Judge granted adjustment of status, ending more than fourteen years of proceedings with permanent residence.2025年8月28日，移民法官批准调整身份，以永久居民身份结束了长达十四年多的程序。
Client details are withheld to protect confidentiality. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.为保护客户隐私，相关信息已隐去。过往结果不保证类似案件的结果。