Freire v. Department of Homeland Security

166 F. Supp. 3d 224, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19421, 2016 WL 2944516
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedFebruary 18, 2016
DocketCivil No. 3:13-cv-1202(AWT)
StatusPublished

This text of 166 F. Supp. 3d 224 (Freire v. Department of Homeland Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Freire v. Department of Homeland Security, 166 F. Supp. 3d 224, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19421, 2016 WL 2944516 (D. Conn. 2016).

Opinion

RULING ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Alvin W. Thompson, United States District Judge

The plaintiff, Altair Claudio Freire (“Freire”) brings this action under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 701, et seq. (“APA”), seeking judicial review of the denial of his application for lawful permanent residence. The parties have filed cross motions for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, the defendants’ motion is being granted and the plaintiffs motion is being denied.

I. BACKGROUND

The plaintiff is a citizen of Brazil. In 1997, he attempted to enter the United States through Miami, Florida using a fraudulent visa. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) ordered him removed and warned him that he was “prohibited from entering, attempting to enter, or being in the United States for a period of 5 years from the date of [his] departure from the United States” as dictated by section 212(a)(9) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Certified Administrative Record (“CAR”) 587. On October 4, 1997, Freire departed the United States for Brazil.

[226]*226On or about August 22, 1999, Freire was apprehended by agents of the United States Coast Guard (“USCG”) when the USCG encountered a boat containing 21 illegal aliens off the coast of Mission Beach, California. There were 18 Mexican citizens and three Brazilian citizens aboard, one of whom was Freire. They were all transported to the INS District Office in San Diego, California. While he was being detained, Freire gave a sworn statement that he was a Brazilian citizen without legal documents to enter the United States and that he had made arrangements with a smuggler to enter the United States. On August 23, 1999, Freire identified an individual in a lineup as the person who was the pilot of the vessel in the' smuggling operation. On September 9, 1999, Freire was paroled into the United States as a material witness against the pilot, who was arrested on smuggling charges. Freire’s parole was set to end on January 9, 2000. On October 19, 1999, he was notified that the pilot had pled guilty and that he was no longer needed as a material witness and was required to leave the United States. The surety of his bond was also notified. Freire was ordered to report to a deportation officer at 808 Front Street, San Diego, California on November 24, 1999 to effect his removal. He never appeared. On January 9, 2000, Freire’s parole expired. On March 14, 2000, the INS prepared a removal order for Freire but never served it on him.

In 2001, Freire began the process of attempting to obtain permanent residence by means of an employment-based adjustment of status. The process involves three-steps, as described in Butt v. Gonzales, 500 F.3d 130, 132 n. 2 (2d Cir.2007):

The process through which an alien pursues employment-based adjustment of status is as follows: First, the aliens prospective employer must file an application for a labor certification. If the Department of Labor certifies the application, the alien’s prospective employer must then file a Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, accompanied by the Labor Certification. If the Petition is approved, the alien, who must be residing in the U.S., must file a Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

Id. (citing Lendo v. Gonzales, 493 F.3d 439, 441-42 (4th Cir.2007)). On April 30, 2001, Freire’s employer, Quality Landscaping, Inc., of Monroe, Connecticut, completed the first step by submitting an application to the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) for a labor certification for a machine operator position on behalf of Freire. On April 30, 2002, DOL approved the application for a labor certification. On May 21, 2002, Quality Landscaping, Inc. commenced the second step by filing a Form 1-140 Petition for Alien Worker with the INS. The petition was approved on August 27, 2003. On March 13, 2007, Freire submitted a Form 1-485 application for adjustment of status.1 He provided a copy of his birth certificate, his Brazilian passport, and other documents including an affidavit attesting to his first attempted entry into the United States through Miami. On April 4, 2009, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) denied Freire’s application, finding that he was “inadmissible to the United States under section 212(a)(9)(A)® of the INA.” CAR 684.

On May 7, 2009, Freire filed a motion with USCIS to reopen and reconsider his Form 1-485 application for adjustment of status. On May 7, 2009, he also filed a Form 1-212 Application for Permission to [227]*227Reapply for Admission into the United States after Deportation or Removal, seeking a waiver of his inadmissibility so he could apply for adjustment of status. On May 11, 2011, USCIS granted his motion to reopen the Form 1-485 application. On May 25, 2011, USCIS denied his application for adjustment of status, finding that he was inadmissible under both INA § 212(a)(6)(C)© and INA § 212 (a)(9)(C)(i)(II). CAR 114-17. Also on May 25, 2011, USCIS denied his application for permission to reapply for admission after removal, explaining that he was inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(9)(C)(i)(II) and had not met the criteria for an exception as provided for by INA 212(a)(9)(C)(ii). CAR 118-19.

On June 27, 2011, Freire filed a motion for USCIS to reconsider the denial of his application for adjustment of status, and on September 19, 2011, USCIS issued an amended denial of his application. USCIS denied his application “as a matter of law” on the ground that he was “inadmissible pursuant to INA § 212(a)(6)(C)® based on [his] use of a fraudulent visa to enter the United States.” CAR 92. USCIS noted that though a waiver is available for that ground of inadmissibility, he was also “inadmissible pursuant to INA § 212(a)(9)(C)(i)(II) based on [his] attempted re-entry without inspection after having been removed.” CAR 92. Having provided no evidence that he had overcome that ground of inadmissibility, USCIS found that “[Freire] ha[d] not established that [he] [was] eligible to receive an immigrant visa and [was] eligible to be admitted to the United States as required by section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.” CAR 92.

Freire appealed the denial of his Form 1-212 waiver application. The USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (“AAO”) denied his appeal on May 29, 2013. The AAO found:

[T]he record evidence establishes that the applicant attempted to reenter the United States after having been ordered removed under section 235(b)(1) of the Act without being admitted. As such, the applicant is inadmissible under 212(a)(9)(C)(i)(II) of the Act. ... An alien who is inadmissible under section 212(a)(9)(C) of the Act may not apply for consent to reapply for admission unless the alien has been outside the United States for more than ten years since the date of the alien’s last departure from the United States.

CAR 15-16. Accordingly, the AAO found Freire to be “statutorily ineligible to apply for permission to reapply for admission.” CAR 16.

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Bluebook (online)
166 F. Supp. 3d 224, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19421, 2016 WL 2944516, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/freire-v-department-of-homeland-security-ctd-2016.