Opinion ID: 3065063
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Estrada

Text: Estrada, who entered the United States without inspection in 1987, worked for a number of years as an agricultural worker in Northern California. In 1999, the INS initiated removal proceedings against Estrada; she conceded removability and designated Mexico as the country of removal. Estrada informed the IJ that she would seek adjustment of status, but her path was full of contingencies. Initially, Estrada’s plan required that her fiancé, Guadalupe Castro: (1) finalize his divorce from his then wife, (2) wed Estrada, (3) complete naturalization, and (4) petition for Estrada’s legal status in the United States. Estrada’s hope was that ultimately she would be able to adjust her status based upon the petition filed by Castro.8 In fact, Castro divorced in the summer of 2000, and he and Estrada married in the fall of that year. Castro became a naturalized U.S. citizen in May 2002, and in the following October he filed an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative on Estrada’s behalf. Nonetheless, in June 2004 — after numerous other hearings and continuances, and more than four years after Estrada’s first appearance in immigration court — the IJ denied Estrada’s adjustment application and granted her the privilege of 8 Under the INA, certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents may be issued immigrant visas or otherwise acquire lawful permanent resident status. For an alien to qualify as an immediate relative, the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident must file a Form I- 130, known now as a “Petition for Alien Relative”, on the alien’s behalf, and the petition must be approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). See 8 C.F.R. § 204.1(a); see also Diouf v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d 1222, 1225 n.1 (9th Cir. 2008). The USCIS’s approval of a Form I-130 petition, however, does not make an alien automatically eligible for adjustment of status under § 1255(i). Among other requirements, an immigrant visa must be “immediately available.” 8 U.S.C. § 1255(i)(2)(B); see also Ngongo v. Ashcroft, 397 F.3d 821, 823 (9th Cir. 2005). The wait time for these immigrant visas can be considerable. LANDIN-MOLINA v. HOLDER 12193 voluntary departure. The IJ reasoned that, even if the I-130 petition were approved, Estrada would not be able to adjust her status because the petition was filed after April 30, 2001 — the sunset date for § 1255(i).9 Estrada argued that her 1989 registration for the RAW program served to backdate her I-130 petition. The IJ rejected this argument, as did the BIA when it dismissed Estrada’s appeal. The BIA concluded that Estrada’s registration for the RAW program did not grandfather her into § 1255(i) because “registry in the RAW program is not a petition for a labor certification or an application for adjustment, but rather it is a registry for individuals who may or may not be chosen to petition for a labor certification should a labor shortfall require the need to replenish the workforce.” On appeal, Estrada again argues that her 1989 registry under the RAW program renders her grandfathered into § 1255(i) and thus eligible to apply for adjustment of status. Specifically, Estrada contends that registry for the RAW program is “at its core” similar to filing a qualifying labor certification application. In 1986, Congress enacted INA § 210A and authorized the RAW program for fiscal years 1990 to 1993. Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99-603, tit. III, § 303(a), 100 Stat. 3359, 3422-31 (1986). The RAW program was meant to “provid[e] additional seasonal agricultural workers to United States agricultural employers to alleviate possible shortages of workers for perishable crops. The program allowed the government to replenish the supply of farmworkers by providing foreign workers with legal resident 9 Estrada’s I-130 petition was approved in October 2004. Such approval does not affect the legal analysis of whether Estrada qualifies as a grandfathered alien who is eligible to adjust her status under § 1255(i). The approval of her I-130 petition would be relevant only if Estrada were grandfathered into § 1255(i). 12194 LANDIN-MOLINA v. HOLDER status if the Secretaries of Agriculture and Labor determined that a shortage of such workers existed.” 59 Fed. Reg. 24031, 24031-32 (May 10, 1994). Specifically, the Secretaries of Labor and Agriculture were empowered to “jointly determine the number (if any) of additional aliens who should be admitted to the United States or who should otherwise acquire the status of aliens lawfully admitted for temporary residence” in order to “meet a shortage of workers to perform seasonal agricultural services.” 8 U.S.C. § 1161(a)(1), repealed by Pub. L. 103-416, tit. II, § 219(ee)(1), 108 Stat. 4305, 4319 (1994). In turn, the Attorney General was to “provide for the admission for lawful temporary resident status, or for the adjustment of status to lawful temporary resident status, of a number of aliens equal to the shortage number (if any, determined under subsection (a) of this section)” for each fiscal year, subject to certain limitations. Id. § 1161(c)(1). Thus, a RAW was defined as “[a]ny individual granted temporary resident status or permanent resident status under [8 U.S.C. § 1161(c)] of the Act.” 8 C.F.R. § 210a.1(i). The implementing regulations for the RAW program established a registration of eligible aliens “intended to provide an adequate number of persons to satisfy shortage number requirements for several years.” 8 C.F.R. § 210a.3(a). The registration period lasted from September 1, 1989 to November 30, 1989. Id. § 210a.3(b). If a shortage number was announced, registrants were to be selected at random and invited to petition for temporary residence in accordance with various priority classes. Id. §§ 210a.2(b), 210a.3(h). [6] We agree with the BIA that Estrada’s status as a mere registrant for the RAW program does not grandfather her into § 1255(i), because registration for the RAW program does not qualify as a labor certification application under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(5)(A). Given the parameters and particulars of the RAW program, and specifically its registration process, Estrada was not only one step removed from having filed the requisite application for labor certification, she was not yet LANDIN-MOLINA v. HOLDER 12195 even qualified to file such an application. Rather, Estrada was merely a member of a pool of aliens who might, but might not, be granted the opportunity to petition to become a RAW should a labor shortage arise. [7] Our conclusion is buttressed by the implementing regulations, which specified that “[n]either employment authorization nor any other benefit shall derive from filing a registration card, being placed in a registry pool, or being invited to petition for RAW status.” 8 C.F.R. § 210a.3(g). Estrada’s own registration card, a Form I-807, repeated a similar disclaimer. Significantly, during the three years during which the RAW program existed, a lack of a sufficient number of agricultural workers was never found to exist. See 59 Fed. Reg. at 24032. Thus, no registrant ever emerged from the registration pool to be invited to petition for RAW status. As such, “no immigration benefits were ever granted through the RAW program.” Id. [8] Estrada argues that we should construe the statute and regulations broadly — deeming the registry for the RAW program functionally equivalent to having filed a labor certification application — in order to effectuate the purpose of § 1255(i), which Estrada asserts to be the preservation and facilitation of family unity. Although we recognize that removal of Estrada from this country will dislocate her from her family, home, and community, the plain language of the statute and regulations simply cannot be stretched as far as Estrada would like. The grandfathering provisions relating to § 1255(i) encompass only “petitions” and “applications for labor certifications” which were “approvable when filed.” 8 C.F.R. § 245.10(a)(1)(i); see also 8 U.S.C. § 1255(i)(1). Unfortunately for Estrada, simply registering for the possibility of petitioning to become a RAW cannot satisfy the requirement of having filed an application for labor certification that was approvable when filed. 12196 LANDIN-MOLINA v. HOLDER