Opinion ID: 2799581
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Matter of Jean and Adjustment of Status

Text: Applications Torres-Valdivias argues that Matter of Jean does not apply to him because, unlike Jean, Torres-Valdivias is not an inadmissible alien and therefore remains statutorily eligible for adjustment of status under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(i). As this case comes to us, the parties agree that his conviction for sexual battery receives the benefit of the petty offense exception to inadmissibility, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II). As such, Torres-Valdivias remained statutorily eligible for adjustment of status without needing to apply for a waiver of inadmissibility. Torres-Valdivias thus argues that Matter of Jean, which established a standard in a case involving a § 209(c) waiver of inadmissibility, is inapplicable here. We disagree. Torres-Valdivias fails to acknowledge that Matter of Jean applied its standard not only in deciding the § 209(c) waiver question, but also in denying asylum under § 1158 as a matter of discretion. The scope of Matter of Jean is therefore not as narrow as Torres-Valdivias argues, as it plainly applies beyond the context of waivers of inadmissibility. Of note, the Attorney General has promulgated the Matter of Jean standard in the broader context of § 212(h) waivers of inadmissibility—which, unlike § 209(c) waivers, are not limited to refugees. See Waiver of TORRES-VALDIVIAS V. LYNCH 17 Criminal Grounds of Inadmissibility for Immigrants, 67 Fed. Reg. 78,675 (Dec. 26, 2002) (codified at 8 C.F.R. § 1212.7(d)).3 Given the broad language employed by the Attorney General in Matter of Jean and its focus on his discretion, we uphold the BIA’s broad reading of Matter of Jean. In Matter of Jean, the Attorney General effectively overruled the BIA’s practice of granting discretionary forms of relief to aliens having been convicted of violent or dangerous crimes. Whether an alien applying for relief from removal has shaken a baby to death as in Matter of Jean or has committed sexual battery of a ten-year-old as in this case, the Attorney General has determined that these are reprehensible aliens to whom relief should be denied in all but the most extraordinary circumstances. Matter of Jean by its own terms is not limited to the waiver of inadmissibility context, as it also applied its standard to denying Jean’s application for asylum as a matter of discretion. This broad reading of Matter of Jean is further supported by the BIA’s published decision in Matter of K–A–, 23 I. & N. Dec. 661 (BIA 2004), which noted that “[t]he Attorney General has communicated in unequivocal terms that he is not inclined to exercise his discretion favorably with respect to aliens who have been convicted of dangerous or violent crimes except in the most exceptional circumstances.” Id. at 666 (citing Matter of Jean, 23 I. & N. Dec. at 383). 3 Torres-Valdivias’s argument that the application of Matter of Jean reads 8 C.F.R. § 1212.7(d) into the petty offenses exception to inadmissibility, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II), is without merit. The BIA did not apply Matter of Jean to find Torres-Valdivias inadmissible notwithstanding the statutory petty offense exception; instead, it applied Matter of Jean to guide the exercise of its ultimate discretion as to whether to grant Torres-Valdivias adjustment of status under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(i). 18 TORRES-VALDIVIAS V. LYNCH