Matter of D-M-C-P – Immigration Judges obligation to notify asylum applicants on Biometrics

Matter of D-M-C-P – Immigration Judges obligation to notify asylum applicants on Biometrics

In a recent Board of Immigration Appeal (“BIA”) decision in Matter of D-M-C-P-, Applicant 26 I&N Dec. 644 (BIA 2015), the BIA held that Immigration Judges are required to notify asylum applicants about their biometrics requirements including the deadline and the consequences of noncompliance. Biometrics in immigration refers to the process of identification. Specifically, all asylum applicants are required to submit a “fee-in” application which will trigger USCIS to schedule a biometrics appointment wherein the applicant will be required to give fingerprints. The BIA held that it is not proper to deem an application for relief abandoned based on the applicant’s failure to comply with the biometrics filing requirement where the record does not reflect that the applicant received notification advisories concerning that requirement.

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