Said Ghazi v. Todd Wallace Blanche, Acting U.S. Attorney General

Holding: The court dismissed the appeal regarding credibility findings for lack of jurisdiction and denied the petition for cancellation of removal because the petitioner did not hold lawful permanent resident status at the time of application.
Standard: Plain language statutory interpretation; jurisdictional bar under Section twelve hundred fifty-two
Vote: Per Curiam decision dismissing and denying the petition.
Practical effect: The decision reinforces that noncitizens who lose their lawful permanent resident status cannot later apply for cancellation of removal based on prior periods of residence, and it limits judicial review of credibility findings in immigration waiver cases.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed in part and denied in part a petition for review challenging an immigration order. The court held it lacked jurisdiction to review factual credibility findings and affirmed the denial of cancellation of removal because the petitioner no longer held lawful permanent resident status.

Background

The petitioner, a native of Morocco, entered the United States in nineteen ninety-four as a conditional permanent resident based on marriage to a United States citizen. The marriage was annulled in nineteen ninety-five after the petitioner left the marital home. The petitioner later sought waivers to remove conditions on his residence and cancellation of removal, but his applications were denied by the Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals due to lack of good faith, failure to prove extreme hardship, and ineligibility for cancellation of removal.

The court’s reasoning

The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the petitioner’s challenge to the adverse credibility finding because such factual determinations are unreviewable in discretionary relief proceedings. Regarding cancellation of removal, the court affirmed that the statutory phrase lawfully admitted for permanent residence requires current status at the time of application. Since the petitioner’s conditional status was terminated in two thousand three, he could not satisfy the five-year residency requirement.

What it means going forward

The decision reinforces that noncitizens who lose their lawful permanent resident status cannot later apply for cancellation of removal based on prior periods of residence, and it limits judicial review of credibility findings in immigration waiver cases.

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