Miguel Cazarez-garcia, Petitioner, v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Respondent, 48 F.3d 1227 (9th Cir. 1995)

MEMORANDUM^** 

Miguel Cazarez-Garcia petitions for review of the final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which found him statutorily ineligible for relief from deportation under Sec. 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(c). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1105a, and we deny the petition.

The BIA found Cazarez-Garcia to be ineligible for Sec. 212(c) relief because he lacked the requisite "lawful unrelinquished domicile of seven consecutive years" in the United States. We interpret this portion of Sec. 212(c) as requiring seven years of lawful unrelinquished domicile following admission for permanent residence. Raya-Ledesma v. INS, 42 F.3d 1263, 1265 (9th Cir. 1994). See also, Castillo-Felix v. INS, 601 F.2d 459, 467 (9th Cir. 1979).

Because Cazarez-Garcia has not been a lawful permanent resident for seven years, he is ineligible for Sec. 212(c) relief. Accordingly, the petition for review is denied.

DENIED.