The Internet has interpenetrated most types of legal practices and immigration law is no exception. Internet-based evidence is widely used in the immigration courts. Immigration procedures and applications are available via the Internet. Some immigration applications, such as the DS-3036 exchange visitor program application, require Internet use. The use of electronic signatures for immigration related matters has been implemented, such as for labor certification for certain immigrants coming to perform labor. Even the Immigration Court Practice Manual is updated through the Internet. In short, those who practice immigration law are well advised to understand how the practice of immigration law has been changed by the Internet.
Federal courts have allowed Internet information for a variety of litigation purposes. The court in United States v. Tank, 200 F.3d 627 (2000), admitted Internet chat-room content after the government made a showing of relevance and authenticity sufficient to establish the foundation for admission of chat-room logs into evidence. The court in Citizens for Peace in Space v. City of Colo. Springs, 477 F.3d 1212 (2007), took judicial notice of a fact posted on the Internet. Appeal courts regularly allow information from Internet dictionaries and commercial Internet sites for the purpose of establishing common uses of words and trademarks. The court in Conference Association v. Kyriakides, 151 F. Supp. 2d 1223 (2001), allowed the use of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Internet home page to provide evidence of the public availability of a particular set of information.
