Vivar-Salgado

MEMORANDUM **

Inocencio Vivar-Salgado, his wife Maria Hernandez-Martinez, and their sons Carlos and Jesus Vivar-Hernandez petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order summarily affirming an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of their applications for suspension of deportation. This petition is governed by the transitional rules of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. See Kalaw v. INS, 133 F.3d 1147, 1150 (9th Cir.1997), We grant the petition.

We agree with petitioners that the IJ used an improper evidentiary standard by requiring corroborating documentation regarding physical presence. See Vera-Villegas v. INS, 330 F.3d 1222, 1225 (9th Cir.2003) (“[T]he time element of an alien’s residency, like all other elements in immigration hearings, may be shown by credible direct testimony or written declarations.”). Vivar-Salgado and Hernandez-Martinez testified that they and their sons had resided in the United States continuously for over seven years prior to the issuance of their Orders to Show Cause, see 8 U.S.C. § 1254 (a)(1) (repealed), and the IJ did not make an explicit adverse credibility finding. Accordingly, the IJ erred in…