Horacio Ramos Miranda v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

This case is before us on remand from the Supreme Court. INS v. Miranda, ---U.S. --, 102 S.Ct. 81 , 70 L.Ed.2d 77 (1981). The Court vacated our earlier opinion, Miranda v. INS, 638 F.2d 83 (9th Cir. 1980), and remanded for further consideration in light of Schweiker v. Hansen, 450 U.S. 785 , 101 S.Ct. 1468 , 67 L.Ed.2d 685 (1981).

Miranda petitions for review of the dismissal by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) of his appeal of a deportation order and denial of his application for adjustment of status or for voluntary departure. Miranda argues that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) should be estopped from denying him permanent resident status because of its eighteen-month delay in processing an immediate-relative visa petition filed by Miranda’s then wife on his behalf. The BIA found no evidence of “affirmative misconduct” by the INS. In our original opinion, we reversed that finding and applied estoppel against the INS. Having reconsidered the matter of light of Schweiker v. Hansen, supra, we now adhere to that conclusion.

The Hansen decision was one in which the Supreme Court refused to apply estoppel against the government. In summarily reversing a…