Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Tovar v. Sessions (9th Cir. - Feb. 14, 2018)

The Ninth Circuit says:

"The question before us is whether Margarito Rodriguez Tovar, a child of a lawful permanent resident (LPR) who was deemed by statute to be a minor child until the very day his father naturalized, still qualified as a minor on that day, or whether instead his father’s naturalization transformed him on the spot from a minor into an adult. The government and the BIA have parsed individual provisions of the labyrinthine Immigration and Nationality Act to arrive at the latter position, with the effect that a parent’s naturalization can cause a child to be deported forthwith and to wait for decades in a foreign land for an immigrant visa—a visa that he would have had in a short period of time if his parent had not become a citizen."

Yeah, that does seem strange.  Doesn't make sense that the fact that your parent becomes a citizen somehow means you get deported.  Seems like it should go the other way.

Which is what the Ninth Circuit indeed holds.

Happy Valentine's Day, Mr. Rodriguez Tovar.