New Immigration Decision Regarding Removal of Conditional Green Card May Help New Jersey Immigrants in Deportation Court

On September 13, 2011, the BIA decided Matter of Francisco Herrara Del Orden. This is a positive and progressive decision that takes a reasoned approach to a common problem. It is not uncommon for many permanent residents who have filed for a waiver of the joint requirement to remove conditions on their green cards to have their cases denied and referred to the Immigration Court. Between the time their cases were adjudicated by an immigration officer and their court hearing before an Immigration Judge, considerable time may have elapsed and the respondent may have been able to secure additional evidence in support of the waiver. This new ruling allows for immigration judges to take in and consider new evidence that a person may not have been able to present in the original application for a waiver. It clarifies that the scope of review that Immigration Judges possess extends to “material and relevant evidence without regard to whether it was previously submitted or considered….”