Mercado-Zazueta

Opinion by Judge WARDLAW; Concurrence by Judge GRABER.

We must decide whether our decision in Cuevas-Gaspar v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 1013 (9th Cir.2005), compels the conclusion that a parent’s status as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence may be imputed to an unemancipated minor child residing with that parent, for purposes of satisfying the five-year permanent residence requirement for cancellation of removal under section 240A(a)(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a)(l). Because the rationale and holding of Cuevas-Gaspar apply equally to the five-year permanent residence and the seven-year continuous residence requirements, we conclude that it does.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Jose Luis Mercado-Zazueta (“Mercado”), a native and citizen of Mexico, entered the United States as a visitor in 1992, at the age of seven. With the exception of a brief 2005 vacation, Mercado has remained in the country ever since. In 1992, his mother married Ramon Mercado *1104 Cuevas (“Ramon”), who had been a lawful permanent resident of the United States since 1983. Ramon legally adopted Mercado in 1998, when he was thirteen years old. Mercado…

concurring:

I concur fully in Judge Wardlaw’s opinion. I write separately to express my concern with both the BIA’s current rule and our holding in Cuevas-Gaspar v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 1013 (9th Cir.2005).

To qualify for cancellation of removal, a person must have had permanent resident status for five years, 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a)(l), and must have had continuous residence under “any” legal immigration status for seven years, id. § 1229b(a)(2). The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) has interpreted those requirements strictly: A parent’s legal status cannot be imputed to a child.

The BIA’s rule is undeniably harsh. Its effect is to remove children who have lived in the United States for at least seven years and whose parents have had permanent resident status for at least five years. Moreover, the children may have arrived here at a very young age and have no ties to the designated country of removal. The children may not speak the language, know anyone there, or have any connection other than the country name on their birth certificates. The BIA’s rule faults these children because their parents, for whatever reason, chose not to seek legal status for the children at the same…

Randy J. Tunac, Allen & Tunac, PLLC, Phoenix, AZ, for the petitioner.

Charles E. Canter, Office of Immigration Litigation, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Washington, D.C., for the respondent.

Before JEROME FARRIS, SUSAN P. GRABER, [*] and KIM McLANE WARDLAW, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge WARDLAW; Concurrence by Judge GRABER.

WARDLAW, Circuit Judge:

We must decide whether our decision in Cuevas-Gaspar v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 1013 (9th Cir.2005), compels the conclusion that a parent's status as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence may be imputed to an unemancipated minor child residing with that parent, for purposes of satisfying the five-year permanent residence requirement for cancellation of removal under section 240A(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA"), 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a)(1). Because the rationale and holding of Cuevas-Gaspar apply equally to the five-year permanent residence and the seven-year continuous residence requirements, we conclude that it does.

Jose Luis Mercado-Zazueta ("Mercado"), a native and citizen of Mexico, entered the United States as a visitor in 1992, at the age of seven. With the exception of a brief 2005…