Opinion ID: 177062
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Kuzmin's Representation ofQun Yang

Text: The Referral Order cites both a letter and motion from Kuzmin's former client, Yang, concerning Kuzmin's representation of him in the matter of Yang v. McElroy, No. 98-4391-ag. In an April 4, 2007 letter to the Court, Yang sought disciplinary sanctions against Kuzmin, in connection alleging that Kuzmin had defaulted in Yang's case by twice failing to file timely briefs. The letter also contended that Kuzrnin had misled Yang to believe that his case had been dismissed on the merits. In an October 27,2006 motion to reinstate his Second Circuit case, Yang also provided a detailed account of Kuzmin's alleged misconduct before both the Court and the BIA. The motion to reinstate further alleged that Kuzmin had knowingly filed documents on Yang's behalf with the Department of Romeland Security / United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (DRS / USCIS) that contained false statements, causing DHS / USCIS to deny Yang's application for an adjustment of status based upon his marriage to a United States citizen.
Yang is a citizen of China who left his country without authorization in March 1993, traveling to Singapore and then Korea before arriving in the United States two months later. He then applied for asylum in the United States, arguing that his extensive participation in pro­ democracy protests in China put him at risk of persecution ifhe were to return. While Yang's • initial asylum application was pending, he also participated in a pro-democracy protest in the United States and wrote an article denouncing the Communist Party in China that was published in a Chinese-American newsjoumal on December 13, 1993. Yang was initially paroled into the United States based on an application for political asylum that he filed at JFK airport. Upon entering the country, he quickly secured the representation of attorney Yiming Zhu to pursue his asylum application. On January 18, 1994, Yang's asylum application was denied on the merits by an Immigration Judge (IJ), who also concluded that Yang had committed fraud by entering the United States using counterfeit documents. Yang appealed that decision before a three-judge panel of the Board of Immigration