MARIA PEREZ-VAZQUEZ V. ERIC HOLDER, JR., No. 10-71858 (9th Cir. 2012)

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FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FEB 27 2012 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT MARIA GUADALUPE PEREZVAZQUEZ, No. 10-71858 Agency No. A089-621-105 Petitioner, MEMORANDUM * v. ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted February 17, 2012 ** San Francisco, California Before: TASHIMA and SILVERMAN, Circuit Judges, and ADELMAN, District Judge.*** Maria Guadalupe Perez-Vazquez petitions for review of a final order of removal denying cancellation of removal. The Board of Immigration Appeals held * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). *** The Honorable Lynn S. Adelman, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, sitting by designation. that Perez-Vazquez s 2002 California Welfare and Institutions Code § 10980(c)(2) felony welfare fraud conviction was an adverse factor that weighed against good moral character under the catchall sentence of 8 U.S.C. § 1101(f).1 However, the conviction was not a felony. It was reduced to a misdemeanor at sentencing pursuant to California Penal Code § 17(b)(3). The Board was bound by the state s characterization of the crime as a misdemeanor. Garcia-Lopez v. Ashcroft, 334 F.3d 840, 845 (9th Cir. 2003). Therefore, we remand for the BIA to reconsider its good moral character determination.2 PETITION GRANTED AND REMANDED. 1 The catchall provides, [t]he fact that any person is not within any of the foregoing classes shall not preclude a finding that for other reasons such person is or was not of good moral character. Id. 2 We decline to consider the remaining arguments made by petitioner and the government. Moreover, the scope of our review is limited to the grounds actually relied on by the BIA. See Santiago-Rodriguez v. Holder, 657 F.3d 820, 829 (9th Cir. 2011). 2

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