U.S. Department of Justice
Executive Office for Immigration Review

Office of the Director
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2400
Falls Church, Virginia 22041

Contact: Public Affairs Office
(703)305-0289, Fax: (703) 605-0365
Internet: www.usdoj.gov/eoir

Board of Immigration Appeals Begins Issuing

Precedent Decisions in Publication Format

Change Will Enable Immediate Citation by Volume and Page Number

FALLS CHURCH, VA -- The Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) has changed the format of its precedent (interim) decisions to match the way they will appear in the bound volumes of Administrative Decisions Under Immigration and Nationality Laws of the United States.

Beginning with volume 23 of Administrative Decisions, the Board will issue all precedent decisions electronically exactly as they will appear in the bound volume. The continuous pagination of these decisions will permit immediate citation to the volume and page of Administrative Decisions. In the past, decisions of the Board designated for publication were referred to only by interim decision number until they were published in a bound volume. Only at that point, often years later, was citation to the volume and page number possible.

The Board will continue to identify precedent decisions by interim decision numbers as well, but the cases may now be cited by volume and page number as soon as the Board issues its decision. For example, Interim Decision 3441, Matter of Oparah, issued on December 15, 2000, should be cited as Matter of Oparah, 23 I&N Dec. 1 (BIA 2000). The interim decision numbers will still be used for reference in the Index to Precedent Decisions and the Numerical Listing of Interim Decisions. This change will result in more efficient, cost-effective, and timely publication of the Board's precedent decisions.

Volume 22 of Administrative Decisions was closed at Matter of Vasquez-Muniz, Interim Decision 3440 (BIA 2000). All the decisions in volume 22 are currently available in looseleaf form but must be reformatted before they can be published in the bound volume.

The Board's precedent decisions are posted on the Internet Web site of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) immediately after they are issued. They can be read or downloaded from: http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/efoia/bia/biaindx.htm.

The Board of Immigration Appeals, which is part of EOIR in the Department of Justice, is the highest administrative body for interpreting and applying immigration laws. It is responsible for hearing appeals of decisions rendered by Immigration Judges or certain INS officers. The Board currently has 21 Members, including a Chairman and two Vice Chairs. The Board is located at EOIR headquarters in Falls Church, VA, where it reviews and decides all appellate cases, although Board panels sometimes hear oral arguments in other locations nationwide.

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