Opinion ID: 3065361
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Period of Hardship Considered

Text: The waiver provision instructs the Attorney General, in determining whether extreme hardship exists, to “consider circumstances occurring only during the period that the alien was admitted for permanent residence on a conditional basis.” § 216(c)(4). Singh does not make any argument as to which circumstances would be relevant assuming his status were terminated; instead, he contends that he remains in conditional permanent resident status, so the relevant time period extends to the present. [10] The BIA correctly decided that Singh’s status was terminated on August 12, 1998, at the latest. Singh conceded before the IJ that his status was terminated that day. On August 12, 1998, the district director issued a Notice of Termination denying Singh’s first petition in the following terms: “Because Lidia Medina withdrew her signature from the petition, the petition is no longer joint. She is no longer willing to proceed on the joint petition. Therefore, your petition does not meet the statutory and regulatory requirements and must be denied . . . . [Y]our status as a permanent resident is terminated.” Alternatively, under BIA precedent, when one party makes a written withdrawal of support from a joint petition, the petition is considered not to have been filed. See Matter of Mendes, 20 I. & N. Dec. 833, 838 (BIA 1994). In the case of an alien who fails to file a joint petition, permanent resident status is terminated on “the second anniversary of the alien’s SINGH v. HOLDER 717 lawful admission for permanent residence.” INA § 216(c)(2)(A); see also 8 C.F.R. § 216.4(a)(6). The second anniversary of Singh’s lawful status fell on April 10, 1998. [11] Singh could not “extend” his conditional permanent resident status by filing additional petitions after his status had been terminated. Because Singh was a former permanent resident who lacked conditional status when he filed his second and third petitions requesting hardship waivers, he had no status to extend. See In re Henry Stowers, 22 I. & N. Dec. 605, 611 (BIA 1999) (holding that former conditional permanent residents may apply for a hardship waiver).