The Board of Immigration Appeals has reaffirmed Matter of Yauri, holding that it generally will not use its sua sponte authority under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(a) to reopen and terminate proceedings so that an arriving non-citizen can pursue adjustment of status before USCIS. Adjustment for arriving non-citizens falls within USCIS's exclusive jurisdiction under 8 C.F.R. § 1245.2(a)(1), and the Board noted that a respondent can instead ask DHS for a stay of removal while USCIS adjudicates the application.
The Board acknowledged that the Ninth Circuit declined to follow Yauri in Singh v. Holder, which binds the Board in that circuit, but found it inapposite because its reviewability concern applies to reopening under § 1003.2(c) rather than sua sponte reopening under § 1003.2(a). The respondent's third motion to reopen was number-barred and filed more than four years after the final order, and his changed circumstances, including his wife's naturalization, her health, and family hardship, did not make the case exceptional. Sua sponte reopening is reserved for exceptional situations, and the Board found a request to pause proceedings for a pending adjustment application to be a common one. The motion was denied.
The full text of Matter of Pierre-Louis can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1469491/dl?inline