2023-18199: Appellate Procedures and Decisional Finality in Immigration Proceedings; Administrative Closure

Summary

In December 2020, the Department of Justice issued a final rule (the "AA96 Final Rule") establishing novel limits on the authority of immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA" or "Board") to manage their dockets and efficiently dispose of cases. Among other changes, the AA96 Final Rule would have required the BIA to set simultaneous briefing schedules for every appeal, limited the authority of immigration judges and the BIA to temporarily pause cases while the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") adjudicates a noncitizen's pending visa application, and restricted the BIA's discretion to remand matters to immigration judges in light of legal and factual errors. The AA96 Final Rule was enjoined shortly after its issuance in March 2021, and it has not been in effect since that date. After careful reconsideration, the Department proposes to restore longstanding procedures in place prior to the AA96 Final Rule, including administrative closure, and to clarify and codify other established practices. Given the aforementioned injunction, the proposed regulatory language largely reflects the currently operative status quo. The Department believes that this rule will promote the efficient and expeditious adjudication of cases, afford immigration judges and the BIA flexibility to efficiently allocate their limited resources, and protect due process for parties before immigration judges and the BIA.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 4 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 8 CFR 1001 Definitions
• 8 CFR 1003 Executive Office for Immigration Review
• 8 CFR 1239 Initiation of Removal Proceedings
• 8 CFR 1240 Proceedings to Determine Removability of Aliens in the United States