Juan Fuentes v. Loretta E. Lynch

Juan Carlos Fuentes petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissing his appeal of the decision of the Immigration Judge (IJ) denying his application for cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a). Applying Medina-Nunez v. Lynch, 788 F.3d 1103 (9th Cir. 2015), and In re Reza-Murillo, 25 I. & N. Dec. 296 (BIA 2010), we hold the BIA properly concluded Fuentes was not “admitted in any status” for purposes of cancellation of removal when he was listed as a derivative beneficiary on his mother’s asylum and Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) applications and received work authorization in the United States. We dismiss in part and deny in part the petition for review.

To be eligible for cancellation of removal, Fuentes had to establish he “resided in the United States continuously for 7 years after having been admitted in any status.” 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a)(2) (emphasis added). Fuentes, who entered the United States without inspection in 1996, was admitted in 2004, when he was granted legal permanent resident (LPR) status. His continuous residence ended in 2009, when he committed a controlled substance…