Richard Bernard v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Richard Bernard, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for suspension of deportation as a battered spouse, and denying his motion to reopen. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual determinations, Hernandez v. Ashcroft, 345 F.3d 824, 832 (9th Cir.2003), and for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to reopen, Singh v. INS, 295 F.3d 1037, 1039 (9th Cir.2002). We deny the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s conclusion that Bernard failed to establish he was battered or subject to extreme cruelty by his former spouse. See 8 U.S.C. § 1254 (a)(3) (repealed 1996); cf. Hernandez, 345 F.3d at 840-41 .

The BIA did not abuse its discretion by denying Bernard’s motion to reopen, because his new evidence addressed only hardship resulting from removal and did not address the dispositive finding that Bernard failed to show he had been subjected to extreme cruelty or battery, and he therefore could not establish prima facie eligibility for…