Demostehenes Yu v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Demostehenes Yu, a native and citizen of the Philippines, petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissing his appeal from a decision of an immigration judge (“IJ”) denying his application for special-rule cancellation of removal under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (“VAWA”). Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual determinations and review de novo questions of law. Hernandez v. Ashcroft, 345 F.3d 824, 832 (9th Cir.2003). We deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that Yu failed to establish that he had been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by his U.S.-citizen spouse, see id. at 840 (observing that “mere unkindness” does not qualify as extreme cruelty under VAWA’s “extreme concept of domestic violence”), as is required to qualify for VAWA special-rule cancellation, see 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(2)(A)(i). Accordingly, Yu’s contention that the agency violated his right to due process by denying his application for VAWA cancellation fails. See Flores Juarez v. Mukasey, 530 F.3d 1020,…