Opinion ID: 2789212
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Visa & Asylum Applications to the United States

Text: Kantengwa and her family left Rwanda in July 1994 when the opposition gained control of the country, eventually arriving in Kenya. Beginning in 1995, Kantengwa made several unsuccessful attempts to gain admission to the United States.4 But on September 5, 2001, Kantengwa finally received conditional approval for a nonimmigrant visa, subject to her completion of a U.S. Department of State security advisory opinion known as the Rwanda Questionnaire. The Rwanda Questionnaire assists the U.S. Department of State in screening out genocide participants seeking refuge in the United States. All Rwandan applicants living outside Rwanda were required to complete the questionnaire to obtain non-immigrant visas. The State Department used the questionnaire to identify applicants with relevant personal or family ties to political and 4 Her 1995 application for admission as a refugee was denied because she had been unable to show past persecution or a wellgrounded fear of future persecution. Three subsequent attempts to obtain non-immigrant visas, beginning in September 2000, were also denied. Munyemana's application was terminated when he died in late February 1995. -6- governmental organizations that were implicated in the genocide, including the MRND and Service de Renseignment. Under department policy, applicants who had such personal or family ties required further investigation to ensure that they were not personally implicated. In completing the Rwanda Questionnaire, Kantengwa answered two questions falsely. The first concerned whether she or any immediate family member was ever a member of several specified organizations, including the Service de Renseignment (for which her husband had worked). The second concerned whether she or any immediate family member was ever a member of a political party, including the MRND (of which she was once a member). Kantengwa responded No to both questions. The Department of State approved her application, and she received her visa on March 4, 2002. She subsequently made two brief visits to the United States to speak at a conference and to visit family. Kantengwa last entered the United States on January 29, 2004, and applied for asylum on March 8, 2004. She was referred to removal proceedings on March 3, 2005 for having overstayed her visa. Kantengwa conceded removability for having remained past her authorized visit, but sought relief from removal, again in the form of asylum, as well as in the form of withholding of removal, protection under the Convention Against Torture, and, in the -7- alternative, voluntary departure. The Boston Immigration Court held six testimonial hearings for the adjudication of these claims. On July 21, 2009,5 the immigration judge granted Kantengwa's applications for asylum and withholding of removal, and so did not reach her requests for protection under the Convention Against Torture or for voluntary departure. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed on June 14, 2010, and later denied the government's motion for reconsideration. Kantengwa's perjury convictions are based on statements she made during these removal proceedings.