Atanasio Espinoza-Espinoza v. Immigration & Naturalization Service

Atanasio Espinoza-Espinoza has petitioned this court for review of a final order of deportation. He challenges the order on two grounds: (1) He received insufficient notice of the facts on which his deportability was premised; and (2) the Immigration and Naturalization Service (the INS) did not prove an element of the charge, 1 e., the willfulness of an admittedly material misrepresentation by petitioner on his visa application. We affirm.

Background

Petitioner, a native and citizen of Mexico, married Hermelinda Gutierrez Morfin in Mexico in 1957, and is the father of her six children. In 1968, petitioner and Hermelinda were separated, and petitioner entered the United States to seek employment. In late 1968 or early 1969, he claims, he received a letter from a friend stating that his wife was intending to obtain a divorce. Without ascertaining whether she had done so, in 1970 he married Mary K. Mincher, an American citizen, who petitioned the INS for an immigrant visa for him. In November 1971, petitioner was interviewed for a visa at the American Consulate in Tijuana, Mexico, and he signed a sworn declaration in which he stated: “Including my present marriage, I have been…