Opinion ID: 3061794
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Second Motion to Reopen or Reconsider

Text: On June 24, 2009, Nikoghosyan filed another motion to reopen or reconsider with the BIA. Nikoghosyan asked the BIA to reconsider its denial of his first motion to reopen as untimely. Nikoghosyan attached documents indicating that the UPS flight carrying his first motion to reopen had been delayed due to mechanical problems. Alternatively, Nikoghosyan asked the BIA to reopen his removal proceedings based on his recent marriage to a United States citizen and changed 3 country conditions in Armenia. Nikoghosyan submitted affidavits from a country expert and two Armenian friends and several articles about Armenia. Nikoghosyan’s country expert described the centuries-old conflict between Christian Armenians and Muslim Azeris. Since the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan from 1988 to 1992, only a small number of Muslims remain in Armenia, and they hide their religious beliefs. The expert opined that individuals of mixed Azeri and Armenian heritage are primary targets for Armenian nationalists and are a source of shame and conflict in Armenian clans. According to the expert, a new law on religion went into effect in Armenia in 2009 that would (1) criminalize unauthorized missionary activities, (2) impose more stringent registration requirements on religious communities and (3) allow the Christian Armenian Apostolic Church to cooperate with the Armenian government on some occasions. The expert opined that this new law would lead to more persecution and oppression of religious minorities. Nikoghosyan’s friend, Artashes Hrantovich Khachatryan, averred that persecution of people with mixed Armenian and Azerbaijani ethnicity began in 1991 and still exists in Armenia. Khachatryan knew that many of Nikoghosyan’s family members were killed “due to their mixed ethnicity and a blood feud.” Another friend, Rudolf Amiryan, averred that during a September 2007 visit to 4 Armenia, a friend’s son was attacked and beaten because of his mixed ethnicity. On January 8, 2010, the BIA denied the motion to reconsider and to reopen. The BIA denied the motion to reconsider as untimely. It denied the motion to reopen as untimely and numerically barred and because Nikoghosyan had not shown material, changed conditions in Armenia. The BIA noted that Nikoghosyan’s evidence was not material because it did not overcome the IJ’s adverse credibility finding. The BIA again denied Nikoghosyan’s request to reopen to allow him to apply for adjustment of status because Nikoghosyan had not shown exceptional circumstances warranting sua sponte reopening. On January 27, 2010, Nikoghosyan filed this petition for review.