Lin v. U.S. Attorney General, No. 11-12506 (11th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CasePetitioner, a native of China, petitioned for review of the BIA's determination that his motion to reopen should be considered withdrawn because of his departure, relying upon Matter of Armendarez-Mendez. At issue was whether the "departure bar" regulation - stating that the BIA could not entertain a motion to reopen filed by or on behalf of a person who has departed the United States - impermissibly conflicted with the Immigration and Nationality Act's provision permitting an alien to file one motion to reopen, 8 U.S.C. 1229a(c)(7)(A). The court concluded that the plain language of the statute, the statutory structure, and the amendment scheme all pointed to one conclusion: the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), Publ. L. No. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009-549, guaranteed an alien the right to file one motion to reopen and the departure bar impermissibly undercutted that right. Therefore, the court granted the petition and remanded for further proceedings.
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