9.6 - Federal Court Remands

(a) Generally — When Board decisions involving visa petitions are reviewed by a federal court, DHS provides that court with a certified copy of the record.  Also, since the Board is not a party before the federal courts, the United States government is represented by the Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) or the United States Attorney’s Office.  See Chapter 1.2(h) (Relationship to the Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL)).  When a federal court remands a case back to the Board for further action, the Board is notified by the office representing the government in the proceedings before the federal court.

The Board cannot advise petitioners or self-petitioners regarding the propriety of or means for seeking judicial review of Board decisions involving visa petitions.

(b) Processing — When the Board receives notification of a federal court’s order from the Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) or the United States Attorney’s Office, a written notification is sent to the parties.  The Board will obtain the record of proceedings from DHS.  In appropriate cases, a briefing schedule is provided to both parties.

(c) Representation — A petitioner may be represented by a practitioner of record through the filing of a Notice of Appearance (Form EOIR-27).  See generally Chapter 2.1(b) (Entering an Appearance as the Practitioner of Record).  Until the Board confirms that it has received the petition record from DHS, as discussed in subsection (b) above, practitioners must not submit a Form EOIR-27 directly with the Board.  Any Form EOIR-27 received prior to the Board receiving the petition record will not be recognized and will not be forwarded to DHS for inclusion in the petition record.  Note that the Form EOIR-27 is not the one used to appear before DHS (Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative (Form G-28)) and that the Board will not recognize a representative using Form G-28.

Practitioners are not permitted to make a limited appearance for document assistance through the Notice of Limited Appearance (Form EOIR-60) in cases involving visa petitions adjudicated before the Board.  Any Notice of Limited Appearance (Form EOIR-60) and the associated assisted documents will not be recognized and will be rejected.  Practitioners who provide document assistance in such cases must file a Notice of Appearance (Form EOIR-27) as discussed above.  See Chapter 2.1(c)(3) (Limited Appearances for Document Assistance Before the Board Only Permitted in Appeals or Motions Related to Cases Arising from the Immigration Court).