Peato Tominiko v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Peato Tominiko and Iuliana Tominiko, natives and citizens of Samoa, petition for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissing their appeal from a decision of an immigration judge (“IJ”) denying their motion to continue their removal proceedings. Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for abuse of discretion the agency’s denial of a motion to continue. Sandoval-Luna v. Mukasey, 526 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir.2008) (per curiam). We deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.

The agency did not abuse its discretion by denying petitioners’ motion to continue so they could seek evidence of U.S. nationality, because petitioners did not demonstrate good cause for a continuance. See Singh v. Holder, 638 F.3d 1264, 1274 (9th Cir.2011). The agency had already granted petitioners an 11-month continuance for this purpose; petitioners delayed approximately seven months before seeking evidence of U.S. nationality; and petitioners, despite the lengthy prior continuance, provided no evidence to support their claim to U.S. nationality. See Matter of Hashmi, 24 I. & N. Dec. 785, 794 (BIA 2009) (“[A] history of continuances…