Nearly a year ago, I posted two blogs, this and this, about a case from the Board of Immigration Appeals, Matter of Almanza-Arenas, which reversed precedent in the Ninth Circuit regarding showing eligibility for Cancellation of Removal for Certain Permanent Residents, INA § 240A(a). This Cancellation of Removal, there are two others, allows permanent residents to keep their permanent residence status after committing removable offenses or engaging in conduct that renders one removable. To be eligible, an alien must have at…

At immigration lawyer conferences, it is not unusual to hear attorneys speaking on the arcana of immigration law to comment on the Ninth Circuit. Those from it gloat about how the law is “better” there for foreigners and those not from it bemoan that they are not there. Quite often attorneys will call me from parts of the country outside of the Ninth Circuit asking if it would be advantageous for a client to move here. It sometimes is, or…