Ghafarian Dehkordi v. Holder

MEMORANDUM

Ramtin Ghafarian Dehkordi, who entered the country under the Visa Waiver Pilot Program, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order affirming the Immigration Judge’s order denying his motion to reopen. The Immigration Judge deemed Dehkordi’s applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture to have been abandoned, and accordingly denied them, because Dehkordi failed to appear for the master calendar hearing. Dehkordi filed a motion to reopen proceedings, claiming that he had not received notice of the hearing because he changed residences and the Immigration Court sent the notice to his former residence. The Immigration Judge denied the motion, finding that Dehkordi was properly charged with constructive notice of the hearing because the Immigration Court mailed the notice of hearing to Dehkordi’s address of record.

Dehkordi concedes that he failed to notify the Immigration Court of his new address. But he argues that the Immigration Court failed to notify him adequately that he was obligated to report his new address to the Immigration Court. Specif ically, the Form 1-863 that he received…