Opinion ID: 469897
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 2 The petitioners, citizens of Great Britain, entered this country on January 11, 1976. They formed a corporation, Hotel Sombrero, Inc., through which they invested a substantial amount of money in a hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Relying on this investment, they filed an application with the INS on April 23, 1976, for adjustment of status to permanent residents as nonpreference investors. On June 6, 1976, the petitioners returned to Zambia, their former residence. 3 The INS scheduled interviews on the adjustment of status applications in August 1977. Because the petitioners were out of the country at that time, the INS classified the application as abandoned, see 8 C.F.R. Sec. 245.2(a)(3) (1986). Although an internal INS Operating Instruction requires that the INS notify applicants of such an action, see INS O.I. 245.6c(2) (n.d.) (unpublished), the INS failed to give the petitioners formal notice. 4 The petitioners returned to this country on January 5, 1983. After they had overstayed their visas, the INS instituted deportation proceedings. The petitioners requested adjustment of status based on Section 19 of the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1981, Pub.L. No. 97-116, Sec. 19, 95 Stat. 1611, 1621 [hereinafter referred to as section 19]. The immigration judge held that they were not eligible for such relief because they were out of this country on June 1, 1978. The BIA affirmed. The petitioners filed a petition for review in this court, arguing, first, that the BIA misinterpreted section 19 and, second, that the INS's failure to give formal notice of its termination of their adjustment of status application violated due process. We have jurisdiction under section 106(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1105a(a) (1982).