U.S. immigration case law explained
Many immigration rules come from court decisions and agency precedents. Here we explain key decisions of the Supreme Court, federal courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) and the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA): the facts, the holding, what it means for applicants and what to do now.
Case law can be changed by later decisions, regulations or policy; each page states its status and the date it was checked. This section is general information, not legal advice.
Immigration litigation tracker
Major cases and policies still in motion — the new birthright order, the H-1B proclamation, OPT, DACA, TPS and more — as of October 9, 2026.
Birthright citizenship
Wong Kim Ark (1898)
The Supreme Court held that a U.S.-born child of Chinese parents was a citizen — the foundation of Fourteenth Amendment birthright citizenship.
Trump v. CASA (2025)
Limited universal injunctions without deciding whether the birthright citizenship order was constitutional.
Trump v. Barbara (2026)
The Supreme Court voided Executive Order 14160 by 6–3; plus the litigation over the follow-on order.
H-1B
Matter of Simeio (AAO 2015)
A worksite move that needs a new LCA requires an amended petition.
ITServe v. Cissna (2020)
The court struck down USCIS’s restrictive approach to third-party-placement H-1B petitions.
Innova v. Baran (2020)
Ninth Circuit: “typically needed” in the OOH meets the “normally required” specialty-occupation test.
H-1B $100,000 proclamation
Where the court challenges to the $100,000 H-1B proclamation stand.
PERM and employment-based green cards
Matter of Kellogg (BALCA 1998)
Alternative requirements and “Kellogg language” in PERM.
Matter of Dhanasar (AAO 2016)
The three-prong test for the National Interest Waiver.
Kazarian v. USCIS (2010)
The two-step review for EB-1A extraordinary ability.
Matter of Chawathe (AAO 2010)
Applicants need only prove eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence.
Family immigration and adjustment
Dept. of State v. Muñoz (2024)
A citizen spouse has no due-process right to challenge a spouse’s visa refusal.
Bouarfa v. Mayorkas (2024)
USCIS’s revocation of an approved I-130 is not reviewable in federal court.
Sanchez v. Mayorkas (2021)
TPS is not an admission for adjustment of status.
Patel v. Garland (2022)
Fact findings in discretionary relief such as adjustment are not reviewable.
Matter of Arrabally (BIA 2012)
Advance-parole travel was not a “departure” — overruled by the BIA in August 2026.
Immigration court and the 10-year rule
Pereira v. Sessions (2018)
An NTA without the hearing time and place does not stop the clock.
Niz-Chavez v. Garland (2021)
The NTA must be a single complete document; it cannot be pieced together later.
Wilkinson v. Garland (2024)
The “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” determination is reviewable.
Campos-Chaves v. Garland (2024)
A proper hearing notice defeats a bid to rescind an in-absentia order over NTA defects.
Santos-Zacaria v. Garland (2023)
Exhaustion of administrative remedies is not jurisdictional.