Appealing to the BIA from an Immigration Judge in the 1st Circuit

In a case arising in the First Circuit, the Board applies the circuit's precedent, so social group and nexus are argued on the First Circuit's own line. The court applies Acosta faithfully and has been receptive to well-defined particular social groups; an argument that ties each element to record evidence and avoids overstatement mirrors how the court reasons through asylum and withholding questions. Family-based and other social-group claims can draw on Aldana-Ramos v. Holder; the link between a protected ground and the persecutor's motive is framed against Lopez-Quinteros v. Mukasey; and gender-related and domestic-violence claims are argued against De Pena-Paniagua v. Barr.

A petition for review is filed directly in the court of appeals after the Board of Immigration Appeals enters a final order; it is not a new district-court case, and the court reviews the Board's decision (and the Immigration Judge's only as far as the Board adopted it). The petition is generally due within 30 days of the Board's final order of removal (INA § 242(b)(1)), and a late petition risks dismissal; verify the deadline and its computation for each case. Filing the petition does not by itself stop removal; a stay has to be sought by separate motion. The petition goes to the First Circuit in Boston, under that court's local rules.

ImmAppeal does not draft this filing.

On a petition for review, the First Circuit reviews the agency's factual findings for substantial evidence, meaning the findings stand unless the record compels a contrary conclusion, and reviews questions of law de novo. Legal questions, such as whether a proposed group is cognizable under the circuit's social-group line, are argued as questions of law; record-based challenges have to meet the demanding substantial-evidence test.

Issues must be raised before the Board to be exhausted for any later petition for review (INA § 242(d)(1)). ImmAppeal does not check exhaustion; counsel confirms which issues were raised.

ImmAppeal drafts one kind of brief: the respondent's brief in an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) from an Immigration Judge's decision in removal proceedings, before the Board has decided that appeal.

In an appeal from an Immigration Judge sitting in the 1st Circuit, the Board applies 1st Circuit precedent. The draft is written for the circuit counsel confirms on the case, which the form reads from the location of the immigration court in the decision; if the two differ, the passport says so. The draft cites that circuit's precedent alongside the Board's. The draft does not change its strategy or tone by circuit; the posture described on this page is background for counsel.

The draft is written from the Immigration Judge's decision alone. Other files are stored with the case but are not read into this draft; transcript and exhibit cites have to be added by counsel.

Citations found in the draft are checked against our library of published decisions, and each is reported as verified, unconfirmed, or removed. A draft is typically ready in under 30 minutes. A licensed attorney reviews and finalizes it before filing; ImmAppeal does not give legal advice.