Policy source archive
Central archive of the case law, memoranda, rulemaking, and USCIS Policy Manual chapters this site relies on. Each entry ships with source, impact, and follow-ups.
The archive is updated regularly. Once ICEB-2025-0001 is finalized, D/S-related entries will be re-tagged accordingly.
Statute
- INA §212(a)(9)(B): statutory 3 / 10-year barINA §212(a)(9)(B), 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(9)(B) · 1996 · U.S. Congress (IIRIRA 1996)
Enacted in IIRIRA 1996: more than 180 days but less than 1 year of UP followed by departure triggers the 3-year bar; 1 year or more triggers the 10-year bar. The clock counts UP; the trigger is the departure.
- INA §222(g): visa voidance after overstayINA §222(g), 8 U.S.C. §1202(g) · 1996 · U.S. Congress
If a nonimmigrant overstays the I-94 admission period, the visa is automatically void; a new visa must generally be sought at a consulate in the country of nationality.
Case law
- Matter of Arrabally & Yerrabelly: AP travel is not a 'departure' for §212(a)(9)(B)Matter of Arrabally & Yerrabelly, 25 I&N Dec. 771 (AAO 2012) · 2012 · AAO
AAO held that traveling on Advance Parole while an I-485 is pending is not a 'departure' that triggers the 3/10-year bar under INA §212(a)(9)(B).
- Guilford College v. Wolf: vacating the 2018 D/S UP memoGuilford College v. Wolf, 1:20-cv-895 (M.D.N.C. 2020) · 2020 · U.S. District Court (M.D.N.C.)
The district court vacated, nationwide, USCIS's 2018 policy that F/J/M would automatically accrue UP from the date a status violation occurred, finding it violated the APA.
- Matter of Wang: narrow reading of CSPA automatic conversionMatter of Wang, 25 I&N Dec. 28 (BIA 2009) · 2009 · BIA
BIA held CSPA §3's automatic conversion and priority-date retention applies only within a principal beneficiary's own petition family, not when the relationship changes.
- Cuellar de Osorio: SCOTUS on CSPA automatic conversionScialabba v. Cuellar de Osorio, 573 U.S. 41 (2014) · 2014 · SCOTUS
SCOTUS, in a plurality opinion, deferred to the BIA's narrow reading of CSPA §3, declining to extend automatic conversion across changes in family relationship.
Agency memorandum
Rulemaking
USCIS Policy Manual
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