Trancho v. Attorney General of United States

344 F. App'x 817
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedSeptember 3, 2009
DocketNo. 08-3804
StatusPublished

This text of 344 F. App'x 817 (Trancho v. Attorney General of United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Trancho v. Attorney General of United States, 344 F. App'x 817 (3d Cir. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

Orlando M. Trancho petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) final order of removal. For the reasons that follow, we will deny his petition for review.

Trancho is a native and citizen of Portugal. He arrived in the United States in 1989 on a visitor’s visa, which he overstayed. Following his second conviction for receiving stolen property on October 27, 2006, Trancho was charged with re-movability for having overstayed his visa and for having committed two or more crimes of moral turpitude. Trancho is married to a United States citizen. His parents are lawful permanent residents of the United States and his mother suffers from severe depression. After being charged with removability, he sought a waiver of inadmissibility so as to allow him to apply for an adjustment of status based on an approved labor certification.1 Pursuant to INA § 212(h)(1)(B), “the Attorney General may, in his discretion,” grant an alien a waiver of inadmissibility, “if it is established to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that the alien’s denial of admission would result in extreme hardship to the United States citizen or lawful[] resident spouse, parent, son, or daughter....” 8 U.S.C. § 1182(h)(1)(B).

On April 24, 2007, the IJ denied Tran-cho’s request for a waiver “as a matter of discretion,” finding that despite his prima facie eligibility, the equities weighed against granting one. (J.A. 301.) As part of his conclusion, the IJ held that he was “not persuaded that Respondent’s removal would result in extreme hardship to Respondent’s U.S. citizen spouse.” (J.A. 801.) The BIA remanded because the IJ failed to consider the effect of Trancho’s removal on his lawful permanent resident parents. (J.A. 47-48.)

On September 13, 2007, while his case was on remand to the IJ, Trancho’s 1996 New Jersey State conviction for receiving stolen property was vacated. (J.A. 16, 75-89.) He apprised the IJ of this development in the context of a motion for a bond hearing. (Id.) One day later, on September 14, 2007, the IJ issued his decision denying Trancho’s application for a waiver. (J.A. 54-61.) There was no discussion of the vacatur of his 1996 conviction in the IJ’s opinion. (Id.) The IJ concluded that while Trancho’s removal proceedings had affected his mother and his removal might exacerbate her symptoms, she had been suffering from depression for nine years and it was not clear that her depression would be resolved if his request for a waiver was granted. (J.A. 60-61.) Additionally, the IJ held that Trancho’s potential eligibility for an adjustment of status based on his wife’s citizenship was not “an equity sufficient to outweigh the seriousness of his criminal past.” (J.A. 61.)

Trancho sought review by the BIA, arguing that the matter should be remanded to the IJ for consideration of the new evidence he submitted regarding the vaca-tur of his 1996 conviction, and for a re[819]*819assessment of the hardship to his mother should he be removed. (J.A. 18-22.) On October 12, 2007, while his appeal to the BIA was pending, the IJ granted his motion to be released on bond, based on the “material change in circumstance” occasioned by the vacatur of his 1996 conviction.2 (J.A. 91-95.) On appeal, the BIA adopted and affirmed the IJ’s determination that his qualifying relatives would not experience extreme hardship should he be removed, and held that Trancho had failed to demonstrate that remand to the IJ to consider the vacatur of his 1996 conviction was warranted, as he had not shown how the vacatur materially affected the outcome of his proceedings. (J.A. 2-4.) Trancho timely filed a petition for review.

We have jurisdiction over this petition for review under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We lack jurisdiction over that aspect of the BIA’s order affirming the IJ’s discretionary denial of a waiver of inadmissibility. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1252(a)(2)(B)(i) & 1182(h) (“No court shall have jurisdiction to review a decision of the Attorney General to grant or deny a waiver under this subsection.”); see also Mendez-Moranchel v. Ashcroft, 838 F.3d 176, 179 (3d Cir.2003) (holding that the “hardship determination” is discretionary and, accordingly, this Court lacks jurisdiction to review it). However we retain jurisdiction over constitutional claims and questions of law. See 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(D).

In his petition for review, Trancho challenges the BIA’s review of the IJ’s determination that he failed to demonstrate that his mother would suffer “extreme hardship” as a result of his removal. As stated above, we lack jurisdiction to review this claim. As Trancho’s remaining two claims are legal ones, however, we consider them in turn. First, Trancho argues that, in denying his motion to remand for the consideration of additional evidence, the BIA engaged in inappropriate fact-finding in concluding that he had not demonstrated the materiality of the vacatur of his 1996 conviction to the IJ’s determination that he had not satisfied the standard for a waiver. Second, Trancho argues that his right to due process was violated by the BIA’s failure to remand the matter to the IJ as, in doing so, it pre[820]*820vented him from fully developing the record below.

In connection with his appeal brief, Trancho filed a document with the BIA entitled “Motion to File Additional Evidence”, in which he asked the BIA to receive into evidence his renewed motion for a bond hearing indicating that his 1996 conviction had been vacated, and the IJ’s opinion granting his request to be released on bond. (J.A. 26-43.) In its decision, the BIA construed this as a motion to remand, which it denied. (J.A. 3-4.) In considering Trancho’s motion to remand, the BIA held that the vacatur was not determinative because, while he may no longer be removable for having committed two or more crimes of moral turpitude, he remains removable for having overstayed his visa. See 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(B). (J.A. 3.) Additionally, he remains ineligible for an adjustment of status without a waiver based on his 2006 conviction for receiving stolen property. See 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I). (J.A. 3.) Because it affirmed the IJ’s hardship determination, the BIA concluded that there was no need to remand to the IJ to consider the effect of the vacated conviction, if any. (J.A. 3.) Trancho challenges this conclusion, arguing that in reaching it, the BIA engaged in “inappropriate fact-finding.” We disagree. In its decision, the BIA correctly concluded that Trancho failed to make any argument to the IJ that the vacated conviction would have obligated him to delay the issuance of his September 14, 2007 decision, nor did he request a continuance or adjournment of the proceedings before the IJ upon receiving notice of the vacatur. The BIA then proceeded to consider whether Trancho had met the requirements for a motion to remand.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Abudu
485 U.S. 94 (Supreme Court, 1988)
Singh v. Gonzales
432 F.3d 533 (Third Circuit, 2006)
Shardar v. Attorney General of the United States
503 F.3d 308 (Third Circuit, 2007)
COELHO
20 I. & N. Dec. 464 (Board of Immigration Appeals, 1992)
Federal Trade Commission v. LeadClick Media, LLC
838 F.3d 158 (Second Circuit, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
344 F. App'x 817, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trancho-v-attorney-general-of-united-states-ca3-2009.