BIA

ADMISSION " MARIANA ISLANDS
Matter of C. Valdez, 25 I&N Dec. 824 (BIA 2012) (noncitizen's pre-11/28/2009 admission to CNMI does not constitute inspection, admission, or parole in to the United States for purposes of adjustment of status under INA 245(a)).

ADMISSION " ADVANCE PAROLE
Matter of Arrabelly and Yerrabally, 25 I&N Dec. 771 (BIA 2012) (leaving and re-entering the United States under a grant of advance parole is not a departure for purposes of triggering inadmissibility under INA 212(a)(9)(B)), revised August, 16, 2012).

ADMISSION"CUBAN REFUGEE ADJUSTMENT ACT
Matter of Espinosa-Guillot, 25 I&N Dec. 653 (BIA 2011) (an individual whose status was adjusted from parolee to lawful permanent resident pursuant to the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act of 1966 was admitted for purposes of removal under INA 237(a)); see Lanier v. U.S. Attorney General, 631 F.3d 363, 365-66 (11th Cir. 2011) (individual whose status was adjusted to permanent residence was not barred from seeking a waiver of inadmissibility under INA 212(h)).

ADMISSION " PORTS OF ENTRY " TRAVEL BY AUTOMOBILE " CONTACT WITH IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES CONSTITUTING ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES
Matter of Quilantan, 25 I. & N. Dec. 285 (BIA 2010) (where an alien entered U.S. through a border checkpoint by car with U.S. citizen friend driving and immigration officer only spoke to driver and allowed the car to enter, the alien proved she was admitted to the U.S. pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 101(a)(13)(A), because she need only prove procedural regularity in her entry and not that she was questioned by immigration authorities or admitted in a particular status), reaffirming Matter of Areguillin, 17 I&N Dec. 308 (BIA 1980).

ADMISSION - FRAUDULENT
Kyong Ho Shin v. Holder, 607 F.3d 1213 (9th Cir. Jun. 11, 2010) (noncitizen brothers were not lawfully admitted for permanent residence where applications were fraudulent; it does not matter that the noncitizens were personally unaware of the fraud).

First Circuit

ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS - FRAUD
Mejia-Orellana v. Gonzales, 502 F.3d 13 (1st Cir. Sept. 6, 2007) (noncitizen who obtained lawful permanent resident status by fraud has not been lawfully admitted to the United States and is therefore ineligible for LPR cancellation of removal).

Second Circuit

ADMISSION -- FLEUTI DOCTRINE
Vartelas v. Holder, 689 F.3d 121 (2d Cir. Aug. 6, 2012) (on remand from Vartelas v. Holder, 132 S. Ct. 1479 (2012), which implicitly required the conclusion that the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) change should not be applied to petitioner retroactively, the case is remanded to the BIA to consider whether he was prejudiced by his attorney's failure to argue the issue of retroactivity).

Third Circuit

ADMISSION " VISA WAIVER PROGRAM
Vera v. Atty General, 672 F.3d 187 (3d Cir. Mar. 1, 2012) (court may presume visa waiver entrant executed the statutorily required waiver of her right to challenge removal; even if waiver was not signed or invalid, prejudice must also be shown), vacated by Vera v. Att'y Gen, __ F.3d __, 2012 WL 2135508 (3d Cir. Jun. 13, 2012) (DHS discovered petitioner was not a visa waiver program entrant).

Sixth Circuit

ADMISSION - PAROLE - ENTRY INTO UNITED STATES TO STAND TRIAL UNDER PAROLE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ADMISSION
Mansour v. Gonzales, ___ F.3d ___2006 WL 3627187 (6th Cir. Dec. 14, 2006) (noncitizen who was paroled into the United States to stand trial in a criminal case did not make a lawful admission, for purposes of becoming eligible to apply for INA 212(c) relief or making a motion to reopen removal proceedings), citing Simeonov v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 532, 536 (9th Cir.2004) (holding that an alien paroled into the United States pending completion of exclusion proceedings did not lawfully enter the United States and was therefore ineligible for withholding of deportation).

Seventh Circuit

ADMISSION - K-VISA IS A NONIMMIGRANT VISA
Atunnise v. Mukasey, 523 F.3d 830 (7th Cir. Apr. 30, 2008) (a K-visa [fiancee visa] is a nonimmigrant visa; nonimmigrant is ineligible for a waiver under INA 212(i), which applies only to intending immigrants; rejecting argument that K-visa is really an immigrant visa since all K-visa recipients intend to immigrate to the U.S.).

Ninth Circuit

RELIEF " CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL " ADMISSION IN ANY STATUS
(respondent was admitted in 1993 when he was waved across the border after inspection by an immigration officer, since the phrase in any status plainly encompasses every status recognized by immigration statutes, lawful or unlawful, his procedurally regular admission in 1993 was an admission in any status under 8 U.S.C. 1229b(a)(2)).

ADMISSION " ENTRY AS SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE CONSTITUTES AN ADMISSION FOR IMMIGRATION PURPOSES
Garcia v. Holder, 659 F.3d 1261 (9th Cir. Nov. 2, 2011) (parole as a Special Immigrant Juvenile, under 8 U.S.C. 1255(h), qualifies as an admission "in any status" for the purposes of eligibility for cancellation of removal for Lawful Permanent Residents under INA 240A(a)(2), 8 U.S.C. 1229b(a)(2)).

ADMISSION - FRAUDULENT
Kyong Ho Shin v. Holder, 607 F.3d 1213 (9th Cir. Jun. 11, 2010) (noncitizen brothers were not lawfully admitted for permanent residence where applications were fraudulent; it does not matter that the noncitizens were personally unaware of the fraud).

Tenth Circuit

IMMIGRATION OFFENSES"ILLEGAL REENTRY"PROCEDURALLY LAWFUL ENTRY CAN CONSTITUTE ILLEGAL REENTRY IF DONE WITHOUT PERMISSION
Cordova-Soto v. Holder, 659 F.3d 1029 (10th Cir. Oct. 17, 2011) (lawful entry as inspected backseat taxi passenger of previously deported person, without seeking the Attorney Generals permission to reapply for admission as she was required to do, under INA 212(a)(9)(A)(iii), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(A)(iii), constituted unlawful entry into the United States, under 8 C.F.R. 241.8(a)); following Lorenzo v. Mukasey, 508 F.3d 1278, 1283 (10th Cir. 2007) (an individual who had previously been removed was precluded from gaining lawful admission to the United Stateswithout obtaining authorization to do so from the Attorney General.); distinguishing Matter of Quilantan, 25 I&N Dec. 285, 289 (BIA 2010) (the lawful entry requirement of admitted, under INA 101(a)(13)(A), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(13)(A), refers only to procedural regularity.).

Other

RELIEF " INSPECTION AND ENTRY AT A PORT OF ENTRY " DEFINITION OF ADMISSION
Inspection and Entry at a Port of Entry: Where is There an Admission? (Jan. 30, 2013) (this applies beyond the DACA context and discusses entries in three common situations: where a noncitizen is waved through a port of entry with no questions asked; where entry is gained by fraud or misrepresentation; and where there is a false claim to U.S. citizenship). http://www.legalactioncenter.org/practice-advisories/%E2%80%9Cbrief-casual-and-innocent-absences-united-states

ADMISSION - VISA WAIVER PROGRAM COUNTRIES
Countries added to Visa Waiver Program (wherein admittees waive rights to immigration hearings and relief), as of November 17, 2008, include: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Republic of Korea, and the Slovak Republic. Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 222, Monday, Nov. 17, 2008.

ADMISSION - VISA OVERSTAY
Entry with a tourist visa counts as an admission. Any entry with inspection at a border or equivalent (e.g., at an airport) counts as an admission, even if the person enters with false documents. The only exception is that a person who entered falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen has not been "admitted." The immigration authorities can deport someone who has overstayed a tourist visa, since he has no right to continue to be present in the United States.

INADMISSIBILITY - TIME OF EVALUATION - CRIME OF MORAL TURPITUDE - PETTY OFFENSE EXCEPTION - TIME OF DECISION
Admissibility is normally evaluated under the law at the time of the application to enter or adjust status, but if the law has changed between the date of application, and the date of decision, the decisionmaker will apply law as it exists at the time of the decision. See, e.g., Matter of Alarcon, 20 I. & N. Dec. 557 (BIA 1992) (BIA assesses application for INA 212(h) waiver of inadmissibility under law at time of decision, not the statute as it existed when the application for the waiver was made); Matter of Alarcon, 20 I. & N. 557 (BIA 1991) (amended statute governs waiver application first filed under earlier version of INA 212(h)); Matter of Kazemi, 19 I. & N. Dec. 49 (BIA 1984) (intervening regulatory change regarding jurisdiction to review INA 212(d)(4) waiver application overrides prior BIA precedent to the contrary); Squires v. INS, 689 F.2d 1276, 1280 (6th Cir. 1982) (noncitizen no longer eligible for petty offense exception to inadmissibility, since Canadian Parliament increased maximum punishment for the offense to more than one year); Matter of Farias. Int. Dec. 3269 (BIA 1996) (evaluating eligibility for INA 212(d)(11) smuggling waiver at time of adjudication). This can work either for or against the applicant. An applicant who was ineligible for a benefit when s/he applied for it may become eligible under new law at the time the fact finder makes her or his decision. On the other hand, if a foreign legislature increases the punishment for an offense, the Board will determine if the applicant qualifies for the petty offense exception by examining the maximum criminal penalty at the time of the application for entry, not the maximum penalty at the time the offense was committed.

ADMISSION - VISA WAIVER PROGRAM
Guam and Northern Mariana Islands added to VWP. http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/cnmi_ifr_2009-01-13.pdf

ADMISSION - VISA WAIVER PROGRAM
Guam and Northern Mariana Islands added to VWP. http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/cnmi_ifr_2009-01-13.pdf