Chaidez

Petitioner Rigoberto Chaidez entered the United States from Mexico in 1988. We are asked to decide whether Chaidez was properly served with an Order to Show Cause (“OSC”) in 1994. In a prece-dential decision applying the statute in effect in 1994, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) held that proper service of an OSC occurred when written notice was sent by certified mail to the alien and the certified mail receipt was signed by the alien, counsel of record, or “a responsible person at [the alien’s] address.” Matter of Grijalva, 211. & N. Dec. 27, 32 (BIA 1995) (en banc). Chaidez’s sworn declaration states that he does not know the person who signed his OSC’s certified mail return receipt and that this person was not authorized to sign on his behalf. In light of this uncontradicted evidence, the government has not satisfied Grijalva’s “responsible person at the alien’s address” requirement.

I

On January 18, 1994, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) issued an OSC for Chaidez. The OSC was sent by certified mail addressed to Chaidez at the San Jose, California address he provided on his asylum and work authorization applications. A return receipt is in…