Sombat Kamheangpatiyooth v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Petitioner is a native and citizen of Thai- . land who entered this country in 1964. He was authorized to remain until January 23, ' 1976. When he did not depart, the Immigration and Naturalization Service initiated deportation proceedings. Petitioner admitted deportability but applied for suspension of deportation under section 244(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1254 (a)(1). The Immigration judge found petitioner ineligible for the relief sought because he had left the United States for a month in 1970, five years and 10 months before his application, and therefore had not been continuously present in the United States for the required seven-year period. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed. This petition followed. We conclude that the Immigration judge and the Board based their determinations upon an erroneous legal standard. We therefore vacate the Board’s order and remand for further proceedings.

The facts are these. Petitioner was admitted to the United States as a student in January 1964 at the age of 20. By the winter of 1970 he had completed half of a four-year course of architectural studies at California Polytechnic Institute. On the…