Gutierrez v. Lynch

Petitioner seeks review of the BIA's order dismissing his appeal of the IJ's order of removal. At issue is whether petitioner became a lawful permanent resident in 2000, when the INS officer signed the I-89 Form certifying that he was eligible for a permanent resident card, or in 2004, when USCIS formally approved his application and actually issued the card. The court agreed with the BIA that petitioner became a permanent resident in 2004, after his eighteenth birthday, when USCIS formally approved his application pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1255(b). Therefore, petitioner is not entitled to citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act of 2009 (CCA), 8 U.S.C. 1431. In the alternative, the court concluded that, pursuant to Robertson-Dewar v. Holder, there is no evidence that the United States purposefully delayed ruling on petitioner's application with the intent of not acting therein until he had aged out of the statute, so there is no evidence of affirmative misconduct. Therefore, the court rejected petitioner's equitable estoppel argument. The court denied the petition. View "Gutierrez v. Lynch" on Justia Law