Appeals Court Denies Petition for Review, Upholds BIA Decision of Abandonment of LPR Status

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Appeals Court Denies Petition for Review, Upholds BIA Decision of Abandonment of LPR Status

On June 26, 2012, in Lateef v. Holder, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit denied the Petitioner’s request for review of an Order by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which found that she abandoned her lawful permanent resident (LPR) status due to her frequent and lengthy visits to her native country, Pakistan.

The Petitioner argued that, due to unforeseeable circumstances, including family issues, she was forced to frequently return to Pakistan for extended periods of time. She also argued that both her and her husband made serious efforts to establish a new life in the U.S. and incurred significant costs in the process. The Petitioner asserted that such efforts would not have been made but for her intent to remain a permanent resident of the U.S. She made specific mention of the facts that she had undergone many of the steps involved in the U.S. immigration process, including sitting her U.S. medical school exams and applying for jobs in the U.S.

The Court, however, noted that the length of her visits (the last one being one year and three months) and the fact that she lied to border officials about the date of her last visit to the U.S., supported its position that she had abandoned her LPR status. According to the Court, the Petitioner did not possess strong ties to the U.S. – she never held employment, owned real property in the country, or had family in the country other than her parents and brothers. In particular, the Court noted that the petitioner had merely spend thirty five percent (35%) of her time over a course of one hundred and sixteen (116) months in the U.S. versus sixty five percent (65%) she spent in Pakistan.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, the Court affirmed the BIA’s decision and denied the petition, holding that intent alone is insufficient to maintain ones LPR status. The Court found that, although the Petitioner may have believed that she and her family would migrate to the U.S. within a relatively short period of time, she made no real effort to comply with the law regarding maintaining ones LPR status. Consequently, the Court affirmed the BIA’s decision holding that intent alone is insufficient to maintain LPR status.

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