Opinion ID: 2718855
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Mr. Martinez

Text: For Mr. Martinez, the immigration judge identified two inadequacies in the proof: (1) testimonial inconsistencies regarding the duration of his residence in the United States, and (2) the absence of any documentary evidence establishing his presence in October 1998. Thus, we know that the immigration judge denied Mr. Martinez’s application based, at least in part, on a perceived lack of evidence from October 1998. With his motion to reopen, Mr. Martinez submitted evidence from 1997 and 1998. Nonetheless, the Board found that the newly submitted evidence “regarding [the couple’s] physical presence in the United States between 1997 and 1998 appear[ed] to be the same or substantially similar to the evidence considered by the Immigration Judge.” 7 R. at 3. For Mr. Martinez, this finding is inaccurate because: (1) the motion to reopen included his paystubs for a job in Colorado in October 1998,3 and (2) we know that the immigration judge did not consider these paystubs based on her reference to “the absence of any documentary evidence to prove entry in October of 1998.”4 These paystubs filled a perceived gap in the evidence that had led the immigration judge to deny relief, and the Board erred in concluding that the proffered evidence was the same or substantially similar to the evidence relied on by the immigration judge. The resulting question is whether the Board’s error materially affected the outcome. The Board partially relied on its erroneous belief in denying the motion to reopen. See id. at 4 (“without a showing that the . . . evidence [accompanying the motion to reopen] might have changed the result in their case, we do not find that any action or inaction by prior counsel caused [the couple] prejudice”). But the Board also noted that “[t]he Immigration Judge [had] based her decision, in large part, on the [couple’s] discrepant testimony regarding their physical presence in the United States.” Id. at 3-4. In light of discrepancies in the testimony, the Board might have reached the same outcome even if the immigration judge had not relied on the absence of evidence from October 1998. But, the Board might have reached a different result if it determined that the immigration judge had weighed the discrepancies less heavily than the perceived 3 R. at 205. 4 Id. at 418. 8 absence of evidence from October 1998. Because we do not know whether the error affected the outcome, we must remand for further findings by the Board. See Onwuamaegbu v. Gonzales, 470 F.3d 405, 411-12 (1st Cir. 2006) (remanding to the Board of Immigration Appeals because the Court of Appeals could not determine whether the Board abused its discretion by summarily affirming when the immigration judge’s rationale was subject to “alternative interpretations”); see also Lam v. Holder, 698 F.3d 529, 536 (7th Cir. 2012) (remanding to the Board of Immigration Appeals when the Court of Appeals concluded that the immigration judge had made an error and it was unclear whether the immigration judge’s determination would stand without the error). On remand, the Board should reconsider based on recognition that the October 1998 evidence was not considered by the immigration judge.