Filed: Sep. 15, 2020
Latest Update: Sep. 15, 2020
Summary: 18-1656 Chen v. Barr BIA A206 225 040 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT SUMMARY ORDER RULINGS BY SUMMARY ORDER DO NOT HAVE PRECEDENTIAL EFFECT. CITATION TO A SUMMARY ORDER FILED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2007, IS PERMITTED AND IS GOVERNED BY FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 32.1 AND THIS COURT=S LOCAL RULE 32.1.1. WHEN CITING A SUMMARY ORDER IN A DOCUMENT FILED WITH THIS COURT, A PARTY MUST CITE EITHER THE FEDERAL APPENDIX OR AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE (WITH THE NOTATION “SUMMARY
Summary: 18-1656 Chen v. Barr BIA A206 225 040 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT SUMMARY ORDER RULINGS BY SUMMARY ORDER DO NOT HAVE PRECEDENTIAL EFFECT. CITATION TO A SUMMARY ORDER FILED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2007, IS PERMITTED AND IS GOVERNED BY FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 32.1 AND THIS COURT=S LOCAL RULE 32.1.1. WHEN CITING A SUMMARY ORDER IN A DOCUMENT FILED WITH THIS COURT, A PARTY MUST CITE EITHER THE FEDERAL APPENDIX OR AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE (WITH THE NOTATION “SUMMARY ..
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18-1656
Chen v. Barr
BIA
A206 225 040
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
SUMMARY ORDER
RULINGS BY SUMMARY ORDER DO NOT HAVE PRECEDENTIAL EFFECT. CITATION
TO A SUMMARY ORDER FILED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2007, IS PERMITTED
AND IS GOVERNED BY FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 32.1 AND THIS
COURT=S LOCAL RULE 32.1.1. WHEN CITING A SUMMARY ORDER IN A DOCUMENT
FILED WITH THIS COURT, A PARTY MUST CITE EITHER THE FEDERAL APPENDIX
OR AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE (WITH THE NOTATION “SUMMARY ORDER”). A
PARTY CITING TO A SUMMARY ORDER MUST SERVE A COPY OF IT ON ANY PARTY
NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL.
At a stated term of the United States Court of Appeals
for the Second Circuit, held at the Thurgood Marshall
United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, in the City of
New York, on the 15th day of September, two thousand twenty.
PRESENT:
JON O. NEWMAN,*
SUSAN L. CARNEY,
JOSEPH F. BIANCO,
Circuit Judges.
_____________________________________
SAI MIN CHEN,
Petitioner,
v. No. 18-1656
NAC
WILLIAM P. BARR, UNITED STATES
ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Respondent.
_____________________________________
FOR PETITIONER: Cora J. Chang, Esq., Flushing,
NY.
* Circuit Judge Peter W. Hall, originally a member of the panel,
is currently unavailable. Circuit Judge Jon O. Newman has
replaced Judge Hall on the panel for this matter. See 2d Cir.
IOP E(b).
FOR RESPONDENT: Joseph H. Hunt, Assistant Attorney
General; Leslie McKay, Senior
Litigation Counsel; Lisa M.
Damiano, Trial Attorney, Office of
Immigration Litigation, United
States Department of Justice,
Washington, DC.
UPON DUE CONSIDERATION of this petition for review of a
Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decision, it is hereby
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the petition for review
is DENIED.
Petitioner Sai Min Chen, a native and citizen of the
People’s Republic of China, seeks review of a May 9, 2018
decision of the BIA denying her motion to reopen her removal
proceedings. In re Sai Min Chen, No. A 206-225-040 (B.I.A.
May 9, 2018). We assume the parties’ familiarity with the
underlying facts and procedural history in this case.
“We review the denial of motions to reopen immigration
proceedings for abuse of discretion, mindful that motions to
reopen are disfavored.” Ali v. Gonzales,
448 F.3d 515, 517
(2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks omitted). “An abuse
of discretion may be found in those circumstances where the
[BIA’s] decision provides no rational explanation,
inexplicably departs from established policies, is devoid of
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any reasoning, or contains only summary or conclusory
statements; that is to say, where the [BIA] has acted in an
arbitrary or capricious manner.” Ke Zhen Zhao v. U.S. Dep’t
of Justice,
265 F.3d 83, 93 (2d Cir. 2001) (citation omitted).
To obtain reopening, a movant must present new, previously
unavailable evidence that establishes her prima facie
eligibility for the relief sought. See 8 C.F.R. §
1003.2(c)(1); INS v. Abudu,
485 U.S. 94, 104 (1988).
The BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying reopening
because Chen failed to demonstrate current prima facie
eligibility for a provisional unlawful presence waiver, and
thus, prima facie eligibility for administrative closure to
allow her to obtain such a provisional waiver. See Matter
of Avetisyan, 25 I. & N. Dec. 688, 696 (B.I.A. 2012)
(explaining that administrative closure requires agency to
evaluate totality of circumstances, including, among other
factors, the likelihood of success, the length of delay, and
the speculative nature of the relief). 1 See generally 8 C.F.R.
1 Because the BIA’s decision denying reopening predates Matter
of Castro-Tum, 27 I. & N. Dec. 271 (A.G. 2018), which held
that neither immigration judges nor the BIA have general
authority to administratively close proceedings, we have
reviewed the decision on the grounds relied on by the BIA and
3
§ 212.7(e) (providing that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (“USCIS”) may grant a “provisional unlawful presence
waiver” permitting certain aliens who are unlawfully present
in the United States and are in the process of obtaining a
visa to apply for a waiver of admissibility without leaving
the United States).
First, an alien is ineligible for a provisional unlawful
presence waiver if she does not currently have a case pending
with the Department of State based on either an approved
immigrant visa petition or her selection to participate in
the diversity visa program. See 8 C.F.R. § 212.7(e)(4)(ii).
Chen argues that she is eligible to become the beneficiary of
an approved visa petition, i.e., that she has a pending
petition, not an approved petition. Because her petition is
not yet approved, she is not yet eligible to apply for a
provisional waiver. See
id.
Second, an alien who “is subject to an administratively
final order of removal” is ineligible for a provisional
unlawful presence waiver unless she “has already filed and
do not address whether administrative closure remains
available.
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USCIS has already granted, before the alien applies for a
provisional unlawful presence waiver . . . , an application
for consent to reapply for admission under section
212(a)(9)(A)(iii) of the [Immigration and Nationality] Act
and 8 C.F.R. 212.2(j).” 8 C.F.R. § 212.7(e)(4)(iv). It is
undisputed that Chen is subject to an administratively final
order of removal, and she does not challenge the BIA’s
conclusion that she did not show that she has received consent
to reapply for admission from USCIS. Instead, Chen raises
arguments concerning the criteria for obtaining a waiver of
inadmissibility based on “extreme hardship” to her relatives
in the United States—i.e., the relief she could apply for
from the United States if her provisional unlawful presence
waiver were first granted. See 8 C.F.R. § 212.7(e)(3)–(4)
(setting forth criteria for eligibility for a provisional
unlawful presence waiver, which does not include an “extreme
hardship” element).
Even if Chen could establish prima facie eligibility for
relief, however, reopening would not be warranted because she
could have raised these issues at her hearing. See 8 C.F.R.
§ 1003.2(c)(1). Chen’s assertion that the IJ failed to
5
inform her of the possibility of pursuing adjustment of status
based on her marriage to a U.S. citizen and a provisional
waiver is unfounded because the record shows that the IJ
discussed these issues with Chen’s counsel.
Further, to the extent Chen asserts ineffective
assistance of counsel as the basis for her motion, she failed
to comply with any of the procedural requirements for such a
motion as are set forth in Matter of Lozada, 19 I. & N. Dec.
637 (B.I.A. 1988). Under Lozada, a movant must submit:
(1) an affidavit setting forth in detail the
agreement with former counsel concerning what
action would be taken and what counsel did or did
not represent in this regard; (2) proof that the
alien notified former counsel of the allegations of
ineffective assistance and allowed counsel an
opportunity to respond; and (3) if a violation of
ethical or legal responsibilities is claimed, a
statement as to whether the alien filed a complaint
with any disciplinary authority regarding counsel's
conduct and, if a complaint was not filed, an
explanation for not doing so.
Debeatham v. Holder,
602 F.3d 481, 484–85 (2d Cir. 2010)
internal quotation marks omitted); see also Matter of Lozada,
19 I. & N. Dec. at 639. Although we have found substantial
compliance with these requirements where the facts supporting
the ineffective assistance claim are “clear on the face of
the record,” Yi Long Yang v. Gonzales,
478 F.3d 133, 143 (2d
6
Cir. 2007), that is not the case here. The record instead
reflects that counsel was aware of the possibility that Chen’s
husband could file a visa petition and Chen could apply for
a provisional unlawful presence waiver, and there is no
indication on the record before us that counsel failed to
inform Chen of these options.
For the foregoing reasons, the petition for review is
DENIED. All pending motions and applications are DENIED and
stays VACATED.
FOR THE COURT:
Catherine O’Hagan Wolfe,
Clerk of Court
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