Abebe
Abebe v. Gonzales
Opinion
Opinion
I. BACKGROUND
On January 1, 1990, Mr. Mengistu came to the United States on a J-1 student visa that required him to return to Ethi- opia upon expiration of the visa. Ms. Abebe joined him on February 22, 1993. On July 13, 1993, Petitioners filed an application for asylum.1 While awaiting resolution of their application, Petitioners had two children, a son, Mikaeh, born 1 Technically, Mr. Mengistu filed the application and listed Ms. Abebe as a derivative applicant. 16864 ABEBE v. GONZALES in 1994, and a daughter, Amen, born in 1996. Both children are U.S. citizens.
Nearly two and a half years after Petitioners filed their request, the asylum office denied their application. The office concluded that Petitioners were aliens who had overstayed their visas and referred them to an IJ for further proceedings. Before the IJ, Petitioners renewed their asylum application, arguing that if their family was required to return to Ethiopia, their daughter, Amen, would be subjected to FGM,2 and that Mr. Mengistu would be persecuted because of his actual and imputed political activities. The IJ denied Petitioners’ applica- tion on November 17, 1997.