Jesus Roberto Arias-Uribe v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

The sole question presented on this petition to review a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals is whether an alien who has been rendered deportable by reason of his conviction for a narcotics offense is entitled to seek, in a deportation proceeding, advance permission to re-enter the United States pursuant to the provisions of § 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (c).

Petitioner is a Mexican citizen who has lived continuously in the United States as a permanent resident alien since 1954. In 1969, shortly after he was convicted in a state court for possession of heroin, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, on the basis of such conviction, instituted deportation proceedings against him, under § 241(a) (11) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1251 (a) (H).

At the deportation hearing, Petitioner conceded his deportability, but sought to avoid expulsion. To that end, he filed an “Application for Advance Permission to Return to an Unrelinquished Domicile” [I.N.S. Form 1-191, 8 C.F.R. § 212.3 ] under the provisions of § 212(c), which provides:

The Special Inquiry Officer ruled that § 212(c) discretionary relief was unavailable to a respondent in a…