FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION NOV 19 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
MELVIN WILFREDO ALVARADO No. 08-72096
PONCE,
Agency No. A037-764-037
Petitioner,
v. MEMORANDUM *
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted November 16, 2010 **
Before: TASHIMA, BERZON, and CLIFTON, Circuit Judges.
Melvin Wilfredo Alvarado Ponce, a native and citizen of El Salvador,
petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his
appeal from an immigration judge’s removal order. We have jurisdiction under
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review de novo questions of law, Khan v. Holder, 584 F.3d
773, 776 (9th Cir. 2009), and we grant the petition for review and remand.
Because Alvarado Ponce was charged as inadmissible under 8 U.S.C.
§ 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) upon his return to the United States, the agency erred in
finding that he was ineligible for former section 212(c) relief. See 8 U.S.C.
§ 1182(c) (repealed 1996); Abebe v. Mukasey, 554 F.3d 1203, 1205 (9th Cir. 2009)
(en banc) (per curiam) (“Under its plain language, section 212(c) gives the
Attorney General discretion to grant lawful permanent residents relief only from
inadmissibility - not deportation.”) (emphasis in original). We remand to the
agency to allow Alvarado Ponce to apply for former section 212(c) relief.
PETITION FOR REVIEW GRANTED; REMANDED.
2 08-72096