Antoine Salem Shubash v. District Director of the U. S. Immigration and Naturalization Service

The District Director of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service appeals from a judgment which overturned his denial of Shubash’s application for seventh preference classification under 8 U.S.C. § 1153 (a) (7). We reverse.

The statute authorizes the issuance of a seventh preference visa “to aliens who satisfy an Immigration and Naturalization Service officer * * * (A) that (i) because of persecution or fear of persecution on account of race, religion, or political opinion they have fled * * * (II) from any country within the general area of the Middle East, and (ii) are unable or unwilling to return to such country or area on account of race, religion, or political opinion * * The statutory conditions (i) and (ii) are in the conjunctive; both must be met. The burden of proof is placed by the statute on Shubash. 8 U.S.C. § 1153 (d). A court may overturn a denial of a visa under this section only for abuse of discretion. (Suh v. Rosenberg, 9 Cir., 1971, 437 F.2d 1098, 1102 .) Here, we can find none. Shubash did not meet his burden as to either condition.

Shubash, an Arab Christian, a resident of Jerusalem, carrying a Jordanian passport, left Jerusalem in 1966, not…