Opinion ID: 350064
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Automatic Self-Invalidation

Text: 37 As a separate argument to support its authority to deport an immigrant upon proof that his application for a labor certificate contained misrepresentations, without regard to willfulness, the Service contends that the regulations of the Department of Labor automatically invalidate any certificate based on representations which are materially incorrect. In analyzing this argument we initially must determine which of the three different versions of the validity regulation applies to Castaneda-Gonzalez's certificate. The Service bases its action against Castaneda-Gonzalez on its authority to deport any alien who was excludable at the time of entry. Immigration and Nationality Act § 241(a)(1), 8 U.S.C. § 1251(a)(1) (1970). Under that authorization the version of the Department of Labor regulation in force at the time Castaneda-Gonzalez entered the United States in December 1971 must be the standard we apply. 38 Unfortunately this version is the most ambiguous of the three. Although the first sentence expresses the standard as materially incorrect, the second defines that term in a fashion at variance with the usual meaning imparted to it by the law. Typically, materiality is applied as an objective test of the significance of a fact to the transactions under consideration. Under that test a misrepresentation is generally deemed material if it is shown that the correct facts would have had a bearing on the action of a decision-maker. 29 The Department of Labor regulation does not follow this form, however, since it does not define materially incorrect to mean that the Secretary of Labor would have attached importance to the correct facts in deciding whether to grant a labor certificate. 30 In order to avoid the semantic confusion which easily arises from the use of a term in a sense different from the meaning generally given to it, 31 we think it is best to restate the substance of the Secretary's regulation by directly substituting the language of his special definition of the term materially incorrect into the first sentence of the regulation. Thus we read the regulation to provide that a labor certificate based on inaccurate facts is invalid if the Secretary of Labor could not have granted it if he had known the correct facts. Since decisions of the Secretary under subsection 212(a)(14) may only be rejected if they are arbitrary and capricious, 32 this could not have granted standard is difficult to meet. To hold that Castaneda-Gonzalez's labor certificate was automatically self-invalidated under this regulation, we would have to conclude that it would have been an abuse of discretion for the Secretary to have issued his certificate on the basis of the correct facts. We do not believe that the administrative record before the Board of Immigration Appeals would support such a finding, and therefore we cannot approve the Board's deportation order on the grounds of its automatic self-invalidation theory. 39 The job offer on which Castaneda-Gonzalez's labor certificate was based described the duties of his prospective position as preparation of Spanish dishes, such as paella, arrozo con pollo and required three years experience as a cook. Administrative Record at 67. Castaneda-Gonzalez's Statement of Qualifications of Alien form represented that his job as a cook in Guatemala involved the preparation of all Spanish type food, id. at 68, but at his deportation hearing he testified that in fact it only required preparation of steaks, hamburgers, and other sandwiches, id. at 44. He also testified, however, that he had not intentionally misrepresented the nature of his work on the qualifications form, which had been completed with the assistance of a friend, 33 id. at 50-51, and that he was able to prepare certain Spanish dishes including those named in the job offer form, id. at 46-47. 40 If we were called upon to make our own judgment on the basis of the correct facts, we might well conclude that Castaneda-Gonzalez should not have been granted a labor certificate. Furthermore, in view of previous labor certification decisions, we also might agree that the Secretary of Labor would not have granted a labor certification under these facts. If the Secretary did issue a labor certificate under such facts we could not hold that it would be an abuse of the discretion delegated to him by subsection 212(a)(14). 34 41 We would reject the Secretary's certification as an abuse of discretion in situations where the facts clearly demonstrate, on their face, that one of the two requirements of subsection 212(a)(14) is not met. 35 If the Service proves that a labor certificate was based on the misrepresentation of a fact, which if correctly stated would conclusively demonstrate an adverse impact on wages or working conditions or the availability of American workers, we would find that the Secretary of Labor could not have granted a certificate under the correct facts and hold that any certificate based on that misrepresentation invalid under the Secretary's regulation. 42 We also must reject the INS's argument that Castaneda-Gonzalez's labor certificate was automatically invalidated because he did not in fact take up the specific job for which it had been issued. It is true that the Secretary of Labor has declared that the validity of a labor certificate is restricted to the particular job and geographic location set forth in the prospective employer's job offer form. 29 C.F.R. § 60.5(e)(3) (1976) (regulations in effect at time of Board of Immigration Appeals' decision); 20 C.F.R. § 656.30(c)(1), published in 42 Fed.Reg. 3449 (Jan. 18, 1977) (regulations currently in effect containing substantially same provision). Nevertheless, an alien who enters the United States with the good faith intention to accept his certified employment is not deportable simply because it turns out that the particular job is no longer available, In re Klein, 12 I & N Dec. 819 (1968), or his employer suggests he look elsewhere, In re Cardosa, 13 I & N Dec. 228 (1969), or even if he leaves the certified job after only a short time because of dissatisfaction with working conditions or wages, In re Marcoux, 12 I & N Dec. 827 (1968). 36 43 In those cases where the Board of Immigration Appeals has ordered the deportation of an alien who moved from the job for which he was certified, it has either found outright fraud or at least concluded that the alien never really intended to take up the certified employment or was always aware that he could not perform the duties of that job. E. g. In re Welcome, 13 I & N Dec. 352 (1969) (at time of entry alien knew that certified job was no longer available); In re Poulin, 13 I & N Dec. 264 (1969) (at time of entry alien did not intend to remain at certified employment); In re La Pietra, 13 I & N Dec. 11 (1968) (alien was aware that she could not perform duties described in employer's request form). Although the record in this case tends to justify Castaneda-Gonzalez's first employer's decision not to retain him as a Specialty Cook, there has been no showing that Castaneda-Gonzalez did not consider himself qualified or that he applied for this job simply as a ruse to gain entry into the United States with no intention of pursuing it. Such a showing perhaps could be made, but it has not been. Indeed, throughout the proceedings below and in this court, Castaneda-Gonzalez has insisted that he is able and willing to accept employment as a Specialty Cook of Spanish food. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary we must assume that Castaneda-Gonzalez applied for his labor certificate and entered this country with the good faith intention to accept the employment on which his certificate was based. Given that assumption, he is not deportable simply because his employer decided he would not retain him as a Specialty Cook of Spanish food.V. WILLFULNESS NOT ESTABLISHED 44 Finally we must consider the Service's contention that the record in this case adequately establishes a willful misrepresentation by Castaneda-Gonzalez. In a deportation proceeding, the government must establish an alien's deportability by clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence. Woodby v. Immigration & Naturalization Service, 385 U.S. 276, 286, 87 S.Ct. 483, 17 L.Ed.2d 362 (1966). The evidence in the administrative record bearing on the willfulness of the misrepresentations made by Castaneda-Gonzalez does not meet that burden. 45 The Government relies on the holding in Kassab v. Immigration & Naturalization Service, 364 F.2d 806, 807 (6th Cir. 1966), that subsection 212(a)(19) does not require proof that a challenged document would not have been issued under the true facts, but only that knowledge of those facts might have spurred further investigation which could have uncovered facts justifying refusal of the document. Whatever may be the merits of that holding, it is directed toward the materiality requirement of subsection 212(a)(19) and not the separate and independent requirement of willfulness. Castaneda-Gonzalez argues that the Government must prove not only that his misrepresentations were material, but also that they were willful. We agree. 46 The government may not have to prove an intent to deceive in order to establish Castaneda-Gonzalez's deportability under subsection 212(a)(19), In re Kai Hing Hui, 15 I & N Dec. ---, Interim Decision No. 2378 (Apr. 7, 1975), but it must at least show that he knowingly and intentionally supplied the Labor Department with incorrect material facts when applying for his labor certification. The record now before us might support a finding that he was negligent in failing to make certain that the facts stated in the application completed by his friend were accurate, but it does not establish that Castaneda-Gonzalez's misrepresentation was either knowing or intentional. Since the question of willfulness was not considered in the administrative proceedings, however, we will remand this case to the Board of Immigration Appeals for further proceedings wherein the Government may introduce whatever additional evidence it so desires. 47 So ordered.