Jocelyn Agonoy Nakamoto v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General

Petitioner Jocelyn Agonoy Nakamoto (“Nakamoto”), a native and citizen of the Philippines, married Jeremías Del Rosario (“Del Rosario”), a United States citizen, on December 18, 1992. Nakamoto obtained an immediate relative status visa on the basis of her marriage to Del Rosario and was admitted to the United States on March 27, 1995. After the Hawaii Family Court for the Third Circuit (“Hawaii family court”) annulled Nakamoto’s marriage to Del Rosario, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) charged Naka-moto under § 237(a)(l)(G)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) for fraudulently entering into her marriage for purposes of evading the United States’ immigration laws. 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(l)(G)(ii) (2000). Subsequently, the INS placed Nakamoto in removal proceedings and an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) ordered her removed to the Philippines on September 10, 1999. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirmed the IJ’s ruling and Nakamoto filed a petition for review on January 27, 2003.

This case raises a preliminary question of whether we have jurisdiction to review the BIA’s decision. We conclude that because the determination under § 1227(a)(l)(G)(ii) is…