Opinion ID: 399457
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Denial of the Raos' Application for Adjustment of Status as an Investor

Text: 6 Section 212(a)(14) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(14) provides for the exclusion of aliens seeking to enter the United States for the purposes of performing skilled or unskilled labor, unless the Secretary of Labor has certified them. However, 8 C.F.R. 212.8(b)(4) in effect on October 5, 1976, provides an exemption from labor certification for aliens, as follows: 7 ... (4) an alien who establishes on Form I-526 that he is seeking to enter in the United States for the purpose of engaging in a commercial or agricultural enterprise in which he has invested or is actively in the process of investing capital totalling at least $10,000 and who establishes that he has had at least one year's experience or training qualifying him in such enterprise .... 8 8 C.F.R. § 212.8(b)(4). 9 It is well established, however, that an alien seeking an exemption from labor certification has the burden of proving his or her entitlement to the exemption. Sanghavi v. INS, 614 F.2d 511 (5th Cir. 1980); Wang v. INS, 602 F.2d 211 (9th Cir. 1979). The alien's proof must be unambiguous and any doubts should be resolved against the applicant. Wang v. INS, supra at 214. Based upon the record established in Rao's deportation proceeding, the immigration judge found that Rao had failed to meet his burden of establishing he was actively in the process of investing at least $10,000 in a commercial enterprise. Thus, Rao's application for an adjustment in status was denied. 10 The basis of the denial was the failure to prove unambiguous intent to invest the required $10,000 in funds. The partnership agreement between Rao and Vaswani stated that Rao was to invest $10,500. However, the agreement did not set a deadline as to when the alien was to invest his capital and it was clear that the alien could get out of this commitment at any time he so chose. Furthermore, the alien only paid the balance of the $10,500 into the partnership after his original request for permanent status was denied. Finally, the INS asserts that it is reasonable to infer that the partnership agreement was nothing more than a sham designed to skirt the immigration laws and that in reality Rao was nothing more than an employee who was to handle the bookkeeping and accounting processes of the business. 11 This Court must affirm the decision reached by an administrative agency if that decision is supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole. Williams v. Blazer Financial Services, Inc., 598 F.2d 1371 (5th Cir. 1979); Superior Oil Company v. FERC, 563 F.2d 191, 204 (5th Cir. 1977). In this instance, evidence on the record demonstrated that Rao's intent to invest was ambiguous. Therefore, Rao's appeal is denied and the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals is 12 AFFIRMED.