Ebrahim v. Gonzales, 05-4433.

• Decision Date: 22 December 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-4433.,05-4433.
• Citation: 471 F.3d 880
• Parties: Yasser EBRAHIM, Petitioner, v. Alberto GONZALES, Attorney General of the United States of America, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

471 F.3d 880

Yasser EBRAHIM, Petitioner, v. Alberto GONZALES, Attorney General of the United States of America, Respondent.

No. 05-4433.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: October 20, 2006.

Filed: December 22, 2006.

Herbert Azubuike Igbanugo, Blackwell & Igbanugo, Minneapolis, MN, for Petitioner.

Scott Baniecke, U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service, Bloomington, MN, Richard M. Evans, Thomas W. Hussey, Karen Drummond, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Immigration Litigation, Paul Fiornio, U.S. Department of Justice, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC, Lori Scialabba, U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review, Falls Church, VA, for Respondent.

Before SMITH, BOWMAN, and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges.

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

Yasser Ebrahim, a native and citizen of Egypt, entered the United States as a nonimmigrant visitor for pleasure. Ebrahim married a United States citizen and his nonimmigrant status was subsequently adjusted to that of a conditional permanent resident. Thereafter, he filed a purported "joint" petition requesting removal of the conditional basis of his residence. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)¹ denied the joint petition and terminated his conditional residence status. Ebrahim later divorced his wife and withdrew the joint petition, acknowledging that the joint petition contained the forged signature of his ex-wife. He filed a second petition to remove his conditional status, seeking a waiver of the joint filing requirement under 8 U.S.C. § 1186(c)(4)(B). Ebrahim claimed that he entered the marriage in good faith and that he would suffer extreme hardship if he were removed from the United States. The INS denied the waiver request and petition, and the immigration judge (IJ) affirmed the denial. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed the IJ's decision. Ebrahim now petitions for review. We dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction.

I. Background

Ebrahim was admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant visitor for pleasure on August 20, 1993. Ebrahim married Tameka Knazze, a United States citizen, in April 1995; however, they separated after only three months of marriage. Based on his marriage to Knazze, his nonimmigrant status was adjusted to that of a conditional permanent resident on September 20, 1995.

On August 18, 1997, Ebrahim filed a joint petition to remove the conditions on his residence with the INS. The INS sent a letter to Ebrahim's counsel indicating its intent to deny the joint petition. In response, on April 27, 2000, Ebrahim asked to withdraw the joint petition, noting that his petition was not "accurate" or "entirely truthful" and that he and his wife had since divorced.² The INS, however, denied the joint petition and terminated Ebrahim's conditional status on May 24, 2000, concluding that Ebrahim's marriage to Knazze was "an effort to circumvent the immigration laws of the United States." Specifically, the INS noted Ebrahim's forgery of Knazze's signature on the petition and on a lease agreement that he submitted to the INS to demonstrate that he and Knazze lived together.

Before the INS terminated Ebrahim's conditional status, Ebrahim had filed a second petition with the INS on May 8, 2000. He requested a waiver of the joint-filing requirement for the removal of conditions under § 216(c)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. § 1186a(c)(4)(A), (B),³ based on his "good faith" marriage to Knazze and on the ground that deportation would cause him extreme hardship.

Ebrahim, however, was charged with being removable under § 237(a)(1)(D)(i) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(D)(i), because the INS terminated his conditional status. The INS filed an additional charge against Ebrahim under § 237(a)(1)(A) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(A), alleging that he attempted to procure an immigration benefit under the INA by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact. Ebrahim conceded at the hearing before the IJ that he was removable because of the termination of his conditional status but denied that he was removable for attempting to procure an immigration benefit by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact. For relief from removal, Ebrahim renewed his petition, applied for cancellation of removal, and, in the alternative, sought voluntary departure.

The IJ found Ebrahim removable as charged and denied his applications for relief. The IJ concluded that Ebrahim was removable as an alien who attempted to procure an immigration benefit by fraud or willful misrepresentation. With respect to the second petition, the IJ found that INS properly denied the petition because Ebrahim failed to establish that he entered into his marriage in good faith.

The IJ's opinion noted that(1) Ebrahim admitted to forging Knazze's signature on the first petition and on the lease document; (2) Ebrahim applied for and received credit cards in his name and added Knazze's name to the cards, without her knowledge, in an attempt to show that they were establishing a life together; (3) Ebrahim and Knazze had no joint assets, possessed no photographs of one another, and owned no property together; (4) Knazze never deposited money into the joint bank account and never wrote checks out of the account; (5) Ebrahim admitted to primarily keeping his money in a separate bank account; (6) Ebrahim and Knazze separated after only three months of marriage and had no contact with one another thereafter; (7) Knazze was not a credible witness; and (8) Knazze exhibited a pattern of "marrying men from another culture and filing papers on their behalf."

The IJ found that the INS correctly determined that Ebrahim would not suffer extreme hardship if removed from the United States. The judge also reiterated concerns about Knazze's credibility and also found that Ebrahim was not credible, as he had fabricated information to gain a benefit based on forged documents.

Ebrahim appealed to the BIA, arguing that he deserved a waiver because he entered into his marriage in good faith. The BIA dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the IJ's conclusion that Ebrahim failed to establish his eligibility for a waiver under § 1186a(c)(4)(B).⁴ The BIA found, based on the "questionable credibility of the respondent, and the paucity of objective documentary evidence of the sort contemplated by the regulations, that the preponderance of the evidence does not support the respondent's claim that he entered into his marriage for a purpose other than to secure an immigration benefit."

II. Discussion

On appeal, Ebrahim argues that the IJ erred by (1) failing to properly analyze whether Ebrahim and Knazze married with an intent to establish a life together; (2) reaching an adverse credibility finding that was contrary to law; and (3) inappropriately questioning Knazze's credibility and...