ST. FRANCIS CABRINI IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER

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445
Matter of ST. FRANCIS CABRINI IMMIGRATION
LAW CENTER, Applicant
Request for Recognition
Decided November 20, 2014
U.S. Department of Justice
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Board of Immigration Appeals
Where an organization is physically colocated or financially associated with, or
otherwise attached to, a for-profit venture, the Board of Immigration Appeals will not
approve an application for recognition unless it is confident that the organization will not
be influenced, either explicitly or implicitly, by the pecuniary interests of the commercial
affiliate.
BEFORE: Board Panel: NEAL, Chairman; ADKINS-BLANCH, Vice Chairman;
HOLMES, Board Member.
NEAL, Chairman:
Saint Francis Cabrini Immigration Law Center has applied for
recognition pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 1292.2(a) (2014). The Department of
Homeland Security (“DHS”) recommends against approving recognition.
The application for recognition will be disapproved.
A nonprofit religious, charitable, social service, or similar organization
established in the United States may be recognized by the Board to provide
low cost or free legal representation by its staff attorneys or accredited
representatives. 8 C.F.R. § 1292.2(a). To be recognized, an organization
must establish that it makes only nominal charges, assesses no excessive
membership dues for persons given assistance, and has at its disposal
adequate knowledge, information, and experience in immigration law and
procedure. Id.; see also Matter of EAC, Inc., 24 I&N Dec. 556, 557−58
(BIA 2008).
On February 7, 2013, the applicant organization submitted a completed
Form EOIR-31 (Request for Recognition of a Non-Profit Religious,
Charitable, Social Service, or Similar Organization), a fee schedule,
resumes for proposed representatives, letters of recommendation, and other
documentation. The applicant organization also advised us that it is not
affiliated with the Catholic Church or any other religious organization and
that it is in the process of applying for its own tax exempt status as

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a nonprofit organization (separate from the International Club of Southwest
Louisiana, of which the applicant claims to be a division).
On June 20, 2013, the DHS responded to the application,
recommending that we disapprove it because the organization lacks
nonprofit status. The DHS also observed that the organization does not
appear to operate independently of Global Management Enterprises, LLC,
a for-profit corporation. In light of the DHS’s concerns and the
organization’s claim that its application for nonprofit status was pending,
we remanded the application to the DHS for further investigation pursuant
to 8 C.F.R. § 1292.2(b).
On June 5, 2014, the DHS provided us and the applicant organization
with the results of its investigation, again recommending that we
disapprove the application because the organization has not established that
it currently holds nonprofit status. The DHS also confirmed that the
applicant organization shares the same physical location and officers as the
for-profit enterprise. The applicant has not responded to the DHS’s latest
recommendation.
We agree with the DHS that the organization has not provided the
requisite evidence of its nonprofit status. We will therefore disapprove the
application for recognition on this basis. See 8 C.F.R. § 1292.2(a); see also
Matter of EAC, Inc., 24 I&N Dec. at 561; Matter of American Paralegal
Academy, Inc., 19 I&N Dec. 386 (BIA 1986). However, even if the
organization provided that evidence, the application still could not be
approved.
The purpose of the recognition and accreditation program is to provide
competent and affordable immigration legal services to persons of limited
means through reputable nonprofit organizations. See Matter of EAC, Inc.,
24 I&N Dec. at 557; see also Matter of Baptist Educational Center, 20 I&N
Dec. 723, 735 (BIA 1993) (terminating recognition of an organization
that was being used to facilitate an immigration counseling business);
Representation and Appearance, 60 Fed. Reg. 57,200, 57,200 (proposed
Nov. 14, 1995) (stating that the nominal fees requirement exists to ensure
that “recognized organizations are in fact charitable, are serving
low-income or indigent clients, and are not representing their clients for
profit”) (Supplementary Information). Nonprofit status is not just
a requirement for recognition; it also serves as a safeguard for members of
the public who otherwise lack access to legal assistance. We therefore
evaluate applications for recognition not only to determine whether an
applicant organization has been granted nonprofit status, as required by the
regulations, but also to ascertain whether it is driven by a charitable
purpose rather than a pecuniary interest.

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The Board will not grant recognition to an organization that intends to
use recognition in a way that is disconsonant in fact or spirit with the
requirement that it must provide low-cost immigration services to
low-income clients. We are especially cautious where we have concerns
that the organization might use recognition as a means to solicit clientele
for a profit-making venture, whether the solicitation is through the
organization itself or through an individual or entity associated with the
organization. See Matter of Baptist Educational Center, 20 I&N Dec. 723
(withdrawing recognition from an organization because its director was
counseling clients on immigration matters in his private capacity for
a profit); see also Matter of Lutheran Ministries of Florida, 20 I&N Dec.
185 (BIA 1990) (disapproving recognition where the applicant organization
failed to sufficiently apprise the Board of its intended operating structure).
Where an organization is physically colocated or financially associated
with, or otherwise attached to, a for-profit venture, we must scrutinize the
intentions and circumstances of that organization, regardless of its nonprofit
status or affiliation. We will not approve an application for recognition
unless we are confident that the organization will not be influenced,
either explicitly or implicitly, by the pecuniary interests of its commercial
affiliate. For that reason, an applicant for recognition must provide detailed
and persuasive information to demonstrate that it operates solely and truly
in the spirit of the regulations. See 8 C.F.R. § 1292.2; see also Matter of
Baptist Educational Center, 20 I&N Dec. at 733 (finding that recognized
organizations must continue to demonstrate their eligibility for recognition
by “clear, unequivocal, and convincing” evidence). The organization must
affirmatively demonstrate that its immigration services are not part of
a larger commercial enterprise and do not act as a loss leader for for-profit
services or serve in any other way as a façade or conduit for a business
venture. The need for the applicant organization to persuade us of its
legitimacy is heightened when, as here, the DHS has raised such concerns
in its evaluation of the organization.
The record indicates that the applicant is affiliated and colocated with
a for-profit job placement company and shares officers and directors
with that venture. The DHS has raised compelling reasons to question the
applicant’s ability to operate independently of its affiliate’s for-profit
initiatives. There is a clear potential, if not a likelihood, that a conflict
of interest exists because the for-profit organization itself provides
immigration services, is operated by the same chief executive officer, and
has many of the same officers and directors. The organization had an
opportunity in its initial application to explain its operating procedures and
fully distinguish itself from its for-profit affiliate. It has also had ample
opportunity to respond to the DHS’s recommendation against approval, but

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to date it has not done so. Since we have not been persuaded that the
applicant organization will remain separate and apart from the for-profit
venture with which it is colocated and shares personnel, officers, and
directors, we will not grant recognition.
Without recognition of the applicant organization, there is no basis for
us to address the qualifications of the individuals for whom accreditation is
sought to represent the organization.
ORDER: The application for recognition is disapproved.