Miguel Romo-Jimenez v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM and ORDER

Miguel Angel Romo-Jimenez (Romo-Jimenez), a citizen and native of Mexico, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA or Board) decision denying derivative citizenship through his mother, a naturalized citizen. By virtue of California family law and our precedent, Romo-Jimenez’s parents were legally separated for the purpose of determining his eligibility for relief. However, because this is a nationality claim and an issue of material fact remains regarding Romo-Jimenez’s legal custody during the relevant time period, we vacate submission of the case, hold the petition for review in abeyance, and transfer the case to the district court for an evidentiary hearing.

The relevant statutory language in this case states that “[a] child born outside of the United States of alien parents ... becomes a citizen of the United States upon ... [t]he naturalization of the parent having legal custody of the child when there has been a legal separation of the parents”; the child “is under the age of eighteen years”; and the child “resid[es] in the United States pursuant to a lawful admission for permanent residence.” 8 U.S.C. § 1432 (a) (repealed 2000).…