Executive Office for Immigration Review – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains a correction to the final rule published Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 73 FR 76914, relating to the rules and procedures that govern the standards of representation and professional conduct for practitioners who appear before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

The Department of Justice is publishing this final rule to amend the regulations regarding voluntary departure. This rule adopts, without substantial change, the proposed rule under which a grant of voluntary departure is automatically withdrawn upon the filing of a motion to reopen or reconsider with the immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) or a petition for review in a federal court of appeals. This final rule adopts, with some modification, the proposed rule under which an immigration judge will set a presumptive civil monetary penalty of $3,000 if the alien fails to depart within the time allowed. However, this rule adopts only in part the proposals to amend the provisions relating to the voluntary departure bond. Finally, this rule adopts the notice advisals in the proposed rule and incorporates additional notice requirements in light of public comments.

This final rule adopts without change an interim rule with request for comments published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2006. The interim rule amended the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) regulations relating to the organization of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) by adding four Board member positions, thereby expanding the Board to 15 members. This rule also expanded the list of persons eligible to serve as temporary Board members to include senior EOIR attorneys with at least ten years of experience in the field of immigration law.

The immigration laws provide that an alien may request and receive a grant of voluntary departure in certain cases; such a grant allows an alien to depart voluntarily during a specified period of time after the order is issued, in lieu of being removed under an order of removal. Voluntary departure is an agreed upon exchange of benefits between the alien and the government that provides tangible benefits for aliens who do depart during the time allowed. There are severe statutory penalties, however, for aliens who voluntarily fail to depart during the time allowed for voluntary departure. This proposed rule would amend the Department of Justice (Department) regulations regarding voluntary departure to allow an alien to elect to file a motion to reopen or reconsider, but also to provide that the alien's filing of a motion to reopen or reconsider prior to the expiration of the voluntary departure period will have the effect of automatically terminating the grant of voluntary departure. Similarly, the rule also provides that the alien's filing of a petition for judicial review shall automatically terminate the grant of voluntary departure. In other words, the rule would afford the alien the option either to abide by the terms of the grant of voluntary departure, in lieu of an order of removal, or to forgo the benefits of voluntary departure and instead challenge the final order on the merits in a motion to reopen or reconsider or a petition for review. If the alien elects to seek further review and forgo voluntary departure, the alien will be subject to the alternate order of removal that was issued in conjunction with the grant of voluntary departure, similar to other aliens who were found to be removable. But this approach also means he or she will not be subject to the penalties for failure to depart voluntarily. The rule also amends the bond provisions for voluntary departure to make clear that an alien's failure to post a voluntary departure bond as required will not have the effect of exempting the alien from the penalties for failure to depart under the grant of voluntary departure. Aliens who are required to post a voluntary departure bond remain liable for the amount of the voluntary departure bond if they do not depart as they had agreed. However, the rule clarifies the circumstances in which aliens will be able to get a refund of the bond amount upon proof that they are physically outside of the United States. In addition, the rule provides that, at the time the immigration judge issues a grant of voluntary departure, the immigration judge will also set a specific dollar amount of not less than $3,000 as a civil money penalty if the alien voluntarily fails to depart within the time allowed.

This proposed rule would amend the Department of Justice (Department) regulations addressing jurisdiction and venue in removal proceedings. The amendment is necessary due to the increasing number of removal hearings being conducted by telephone and video conference. The proposed rule establishes that venue shall lie at the place of the hearing as identified on the charging document or initial hearing notice, unless an immigration judge has granted a change of venue to a different location. The hearing location is the same whether or not the immigration judge or a party to the proceeding appears at the hearing location in person or participates in the hearing by telephone or video conference. The proposed rule also establishes that removal proceedings shall be deemed to be completed at the location of the final hearing, regardless of whether all parties are physically present at that location. The Department also proposes to amend the regulations to state expressly that, when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) files a charging document, jurisdiction vests with the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge (OCIJ) within the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

This notice updates an earlier advisal of a revised general practice to be followed by the Board of Immigration Appeals regarding briefing deadlines for cases before the Board in which the alien is detained. The former notice stated that the additional time period granted for a first briefing extension will generally be reduced from 21 days to 15 days, and the number of extension requests granted will generally be reduced from one per party to one per case. After further consideration, the 21 day briefing schedule will be retained. The number of extension requests granted per case, however, will still be generally reduced to one.

The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General are amending their respective agencies' regulations governing applications for adjustment of status filed by paroled arriving aliens seeking to become lawful permanent residents. The Secretary and the Attorney General are also amending the regulations to clarify when United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, or the immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, have jurisdiction to adjudicate applications for adjustment of status by such aliens. In addition, the Secretary and the Attorney General are requesting comments on the possibility of adopting further proposals in the future to structure the exercise of discretion in adjudicating these applications for adjustment of status.