On July 28, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in Torres-Casas v. Blanche that a child who turns 21 while a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) case is pending ceases to qualify as a “child” for purposes of cancellation of removal under INA §240A(b)(1)(D). The panel held that the statute requires assessing qualifying relatives at the time of the agency’s final decision, not when the immigration judge first ruled. The decision tightens eligibility for one of the most common forms of discretionary relief, potentially affecting thousands of long-term U.S. residents whose removal cases have been delayed by years-long backlogs. For global mobility and corporate HR teams employing workers in removal proceedings, the ruling means that protracted litigation can now erase a critical defense if dependent children become adults before adjudication concludes. Employers should encourage at-risk staff to explore alternative strategies—such as family-based petitions, humanitarian parole, or employer-sponsored visas—well before dependent children approach their 21st birthdays. Immigration counsel may also seek to expedite cases where age-out is imminent, citing the due-process interests the Ninth Circuit left unaddressed. Because the Ninth Circuit covers California, home to many multinational headquarters, the ruling will have outsized impact on corporate workforces. Unless the Supreme Court resolves an emerging circuit split, mobility managers must factor this precedent into long-term planning for employees in West-Coast operations.
Source: AILA—case summary
