Jagpal

MEMORANDUM **

We have jurisdiction under former 8 U. S.C. § 1105a(a), and we deny the petition.

Contrary to Petitioner’s argument, it was not the burden of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) to establish that he had a reason for staying in India that contradicted his statements that he did not intend to abandon his permanent resident status. 1 Further, Petitioner believed that the lawsuit against the tenants of his family’s property in India could go on indefinitely. Thus, Petitioner’s stated reason for his visits to India, to oversee that lawsuit, does not tend to show that, despite the duration of these visits, he did have a “continuous, uninterrupted intention” to return to the United States. 2 The relevant intent was not Petitioner’s intent to return ultimately, but his intent to return to the United States within a relatively short period.

Even if Petitioner’s reason for his visits to India did tend to show that he had a “continuous, uninterrupted intention” to return to the United States, there is substantial evidence to support the BIA’s determination that he abandoned his permanent resident status. 4 Petitioner testified that his wife and son lived in…