By: Sarah Flinn The Board of Immigration Appeals recently held that a returning lawful permanent resident may not be regarded as seeking admission to the United States unless one of the exceptions listed in INA § 101(a)(13)(C) applies. Matter of Pena, 26 I&N Dec. 613, 618 (BIA June 16, 2015). The main issue faced by the Board in Matter of Pena is whether Mr. Pena, who was granted lawful permanent resident status on June 5, 2000, could be charged under INA § 212(a) as an arriving alien seeking admission to the U.S. despite the fact that none of the exceptions in § 101(a)(13)(C) [...]
SCOTUS: LPR admission requirement doesn’t apply retroactively
In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the admission requirement imposed on LPRs in 1996 does not apply retroactively. Vartelas v. Holder, 566 U.S. –, slip op. (2012). Justice Ginsburg wrote the majority decision for herself and Justices Roberts, Kennedy, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan. Justice Scalia wrote a dissenting opinion that was joined by Thomas and Alito. This case involved an LPR who was convicted through a guilty plea in 1994 of conspiracy to make or possess counterfeit securities, 18 U.S.C. § 371. At the time, this conviction posed no exclusion or deportation [...]