Gomez
Gomez v. Ashcroft
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM
Augustin Gomez, a citizen of Mexico, applied for suspension of deportation pursuant to former INA § 244(a)(1), 8 U.S.C. § 1254 (a)(1), and argued his claim to an immigration judge before Congress enacted the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (“IIRIRA”). The immigration judge concluded that Gomez had satisfied the seven-year continuous residency requirement for suspension of deportation but denied his petition for failure to show extreme hardship. Gomez appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) for review of the immigra *769 tion judge’s decision that Gomez did not establish extreme hardship. Between the time that the immigration judge concluded that Gomez had satisfied the continuous residency requirement and the time that the BIA reviewed Gomez’s petition, IIRI-RA went into effect. IIRIRA provided a new method, known as the “stop-time rule,” for determining whether a petitioner satisfied the seven-year continuous residency requirement. The BIA applied the stop-time rule retroactively and dismissed Gomez’s petition without reviewing the immigration judge’s decision that Gomez did not establish extreme hardship.