Maria Valles De Mendez v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Maria Valles de Mendez, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions pro se for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order denying her motion to reopen. Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to reopen. Mohammed v. Gonzales, 400 F.3d 785, 791 (9th Cir. 2005). We deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.

The BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying Valles de Mendez’ motion to reopen, where she failed to establish that her former attorney’s failure to file an application for a waiver under 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (h) (“212(h) waiver”) constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. See Mohammed, 400 F.3d at 793 (“petitioner must demonstrate first that counsel failed to perform with sufficient competence, and, second, that she was prejudiced by counsel’s performance”). Valle de Mendez contends that she was eligible for a 212(h) waiver because she was not admitted, but rather was granted adjustment of status and, therefore, the requirement that an applicant for a 212(h) waiver be present for seven years after “admission” should not have barred her eligibility. However, at the time of…