Javier SEQUEIRA-SOLANO, Petitioner, v. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, Respondent

We deal in this case with recurring issues raised after the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denies a petition to reopen deportation proceedings. Javier Sequeira-Solano (“Sequeira-Solano”) was ordered to report on May 18, 1992 for deportation. He failed to show up. He then petitioned for reopening of deportation proceedings, in order to ask for suspension of deportation pursuant to Section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1254 . The BIA denied his motion to reopen, and he petitions this court for review.

The BIA denied the motion because the petitioner had failed to appear for deportation as ordered by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”). The BIA reviewed the circumstances of Sequeira-Solano’s case, including the fact that by the time of the motion to reopen, he appeared to have satisfied the threshold requirements for suspension of deportation such as continuous residence in the United States for seven years. 8 U.S.C. § 1254 (a)(1). The BIA noted, however, that at the time of the deportation proceeding itself, petitioner had not yet satisfied the seven-year requirement; that he had been granted the privilege of voluntary departure; and…