Ali Padash v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Ali Padash (“Padash”) petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denying his application for asylum and withholding of deportation. Padash contends that the BIA erred in concluding that he had not established past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution in India or Iran. He also challenges the BIA’s determination that he is ineligible to adjust his status to that of permanent resident as a derivative beneficiary of his parents’ visa.

We affirm the BIA’s decision to deny his application for asylum and withholding of deportation, but reverse the denial of adjustment of status. The latter denial was based on a determination that Padash was not statutorily eligible for permanent residence because, having turned twenty-one before his visa was adjudicated, he no longer fit within the Immigration and Nationality Act’s (“INA”) definition of a child. INA § 101(b)(1), 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (b)(1). Because we hold that the subsequently-enacted Child Status Protection Act of 2002, which prevents individuals from “aging out” of a visa category as a result of delays in visa processing and adjudication, applies to Padash, we reverse and remand to the BIA…