Deportation Overturned on Appeal: Client Eligible to Apply for his Green Card

I just won an appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).  The Immigration Court in Buffalo ordered my client's removal after trial speculating that he was ineligible to apply for his Green Card because he made a false claim to United States citizenship that never happened.  

On appeal I argued that the Immigration Court erred in ruling that my client was not statutorily eligible to adjust his status to lawful permanent resident because he was inspected and admitted to the United States, is married to a United States citizen and has an immigrant visa number immediately available to him, is not removable on any criminal related grounds.  I further argued that the Court engaged in unlawful speculation that was not tethered to the evidentiary record by ruling that my client had made a false claim to United States citizenship.

I further argued that my client was deprived of a fundamentally fair hearing because the Court’s impartiality was reasonably questioned during the course of proceedings.   In my brief to the Board I established that the Court displayed a bias against our client, so much so that an objective, disinterested observer fully informed of the underlying facts would entertain significant doubt that justice would be done absent recusal.

Thankfully, the BIA agreed with my arguments, ruled that my client is statutorily eligible to apply for his Green Card, and remanded the case back to the Court for assignment to a different Immigration Judge to determine if my client should be given his Green Card in the exercise of discretion.

Click here to read the decision.