All articles — page 10

The full archive in alphabetical order, across every field.

The General Rules of Interpretation and Where Classification Is Won

The General Rules of Interpretation govern classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and are applied in order, so a later rule is reached only when every earlier one fails. Rule 1 gives controlling force to the terms of the headings and to the section and chapter notes. Rules 2 and 3 deal with incomplete, unassembled and composite goods. Rules 4, 5 and 6 handle residual cases, containers and subheadings.

6 min readTreaty and international

Immigration & Naturalization

The Guam and Northern Marianas Visa Waiver

Section 212(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes a visa waiver for admission to Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Nationals of designated countries and geographic areas may be admitted for business or pleasure for a period fixed by regulation, on an electronic travel authorization, without a visa. Admission is confined to the two territories, cannot be extended, and carries a waiver of most rights to contest removal.

6 min readFederal law

Tribal & Indian Law

The Indian Child Welfare Act: Notice, Placement and Active Efforts

The Indian Child Welfare Act governs state child custody proceedings involving an Indian child. It gives exclusive jurisdiction to the tribe where the child is domiciled on the reservation, allows transfer of other cases to tribal court, requires notice to the parent and the tribe, requires active efforts to prevent the breakup of the family, imposes heightened standards of proof supported by expert testimony, and orders placement preferences a court may leave only for good cause.

6 min readFederal and state

Tribal & Indian Law

The Montana Exceptions and Civil Authority Over Non-Members

Under Montana v. United States, the inherent sovereign powers of a tribe do not extend to the activities of non-members. A tribe may regulate non-members who enter consensual relationships with the tribe or its members through commercial dealing, contracts, leases or other arrangements, and may regulate conduct that threatens or directly affects the political integrity, economic security, or health or welfare of the tribe. Both exceptions require a nexus to the regulation asserted.

6 min readFederal law

Immigration & Naturalization

The Ninety-Day Rule on Misrepresented Intent

Consular guidance directs officers to presume willful misrepresentation where a nonimmigrant engages in conduct inconsistent with the status held, within ninety days of entry. The presumption reaches unauthorized employment, unauthorized study, and marriage to a citizen or resident coupled with taking up residence. It is rebuttable, it binds consular officers rather than the benefits agency, and it does not create a safe harbor once the ninety days pass.

6 min readFederal law

Immigration & Naturalization

The Petition for Review and the Thirty-Day Bar

A final order of removal is reviewed on a petition filed in the court of appeals for the circuit where the immigration judge completed proceedings, within thirty days of the order. The petition is the sole and exclusive means of review, and filing does not stay removal. The court is confined to the administrative record, treats findings of fact as conclusive unless a reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude otherwise, and may not review most discretionary determinations.

6 min readFederal law

Immigration & Naturalization

The Petty Offense Exception and Its Narrow Arithmetic

An applicant otherwise inadmissible for a crime involving moral turpitude falls outside the ground where only one crime was committed, the maximum penalty possible did not exceed imprisonment for one year, and any sentence imposed did not exceed six months regardless of how much was served. It is confined to that ground: it does not reach controlled substance offenses, the multiple conviction ground, or any ground of deportability, and it operates automatically rather than by discretion.

6 min readFederal law

Military Justice & Veterans Appeals

The Physical Evaluation Board and Medical Separation

When a condition may prevent a service member from meeting retention standards, a medical evaluation board documents it and refers the case to a physical evaluation board. The physical evaluation board decides fitness for duty. A member found unfit receives a rating under the schedule in 38 CFR Part 4 for the unfitting conditions only. A rating of thirty percent or more with the required service produces disability retirement; a lower rating produces separation with severance pay.

5 min readFederal law

Immigration & Naturalization

The Sealed Visa Packet and the Inspection That Follows

An immigrant visa applicant leaves the consulate with the visa in the passport and, at many posts, a sealed envelope containing the case file. The envelope is for the inspecting officer and must not be opened by the traveler. At the port of entry the immigrant is an applicant for admission: the officer verifies identity, checks the visa, examines admissibility, endorses the passport, and takes the packet. Status begins at admission and not before.

6 min readFederal law

Military Justice & Veterans Appeals

The Three Lanes of the Modernized Appeals System

After a decision, a claimant may file a supplemental claim on VA Form 20-0995 with new and relevant evidence, request higher-level review on VA Form 20-0996 by a senior adjudicator on the existing record, or appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals on VA Form 10182 by choosing among three dockets. Filing within one year of the decision preserves the effective date. Board decisions may be appealed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

5 min readFederal law

Military Justice & Veterans Appeals

Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability

Under 38 CFR 4.16 a total rating may be assigned where service-connected disabilities prevent substantially gainful occupation and the veteran has one disability rated sixty percent or more, or a combined seventy percent with one rated at least forty. Veterans below those gates may be considered on an extraschedular basis. Marginal employment is not substantially gainful, age and nonservice-connected conditions are excluded.

5 min readFederal law

Trade & Customs

Transaction Value and the Additions Customs Requires

Under 19 U.S.C. 1401a, imported merchandise is appraised at transaction value: the price actually paid or payable for the goods when sold for exportation to the United States, plus packing costs, selling commissions, the apportioned value of assists, royalties and license fees paid as a condition of sale, and any resale proceeds accruing to the seller. Where the conditions for transaction value are not met, the statute prescribes a fixed hierarchy of alternative methods.

6 min readFederal law

Fields of law

This journal

All articles — page 10

The General Rules of Interpretation and Where Classification Is Won

The Guam and Northern Marianas Visa Waiver

The Indian Child Welfare Act: Notice, Placement and Active Efforts

The Montana Exceptions and Civil Authority Over Non-Members

The Ninety-Day Rule on Misrepresented Intent

The Petition for Review and the Thirty-Day Bar

The Petty Offense Exception and Its Narrow Arithmetic

The Physical Evaluation Board and Medical Separation

The Sealed Visa Packet and the Inspection That Follows

The Three Lanes of the Modernized Appeals System

Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability

Transaction Value and the Additions Customs Requires