In a published decision, the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) determined that it has no jurisdiction to determine whether asylum-only proceedings were improvidently initiated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The respondent alleged that he did not enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, and thus, placing him in asylum-only proceedings was inappropriate. The Board suggested that the federal courts may be the proper forum for litigating this issue.
In addition, the Board held that when a respondent indicates an intention to apply for a form of immigration relief that requires the DHS to collect his biometric information, the Immigration Judge should do all of the following on the record: (1) ensure that the DHS has advised the applicant of the need to provide biometrics and other biographical information and has furnished the appropriate instructions; (2) inform the applicant of the deadline for complying with the requirements of which he has been notified; and (3) inform the applicant of the consequences of noncompliance, including the possibility that the application will be deemed abandoned and dismissed, unless the failure to comply resulted from good cause.
The full text of Matter of D-M-C-P- can be found here: http://www.justice.gov/eoir/file/643221/download