Alfredo Castillo Ison v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Petitioner Alfredo Castillo Ison, a citizen of the Philippines, faced a charge of overstaying a nonimmigrant visa. He sought to remain in the United States by claiming U.S. citizenship on the ground that the Philippines was a U.S. territory when he was born. The immigration judge rejected this argument, along with Ison’s requests for asylum, withholding of deportation, and voluntary departure. In 1986, while his appeal was pending, Ison married Lorena Kidder, a United States citizen. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissed his appeal in 1990. Four years later, his wife ailing, Ison moved to reopen the proceedings to apply for a suspension of deportation so that he could remain in the United States to care for her. The BIA denied the motion but suggested that Ison might qualify for an adjustment of status based on his marriage to a United States citizen. Ison’s wife died later that year.

In 1996, we denied Ison’s petition for review, but stayed the mandate for 45 days to permit him to apply for an adjustment of status. Ison v. I.N.S., No. 94-70533, 1996 WL 29251, at *3 (9th Cir. Jan. 25, 1996). So Ison, then a widower, moved again to reopen his immigration proceedings,…