UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 11-1666
JOANMARY DAVIS,
Petitioner,
v.
ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration
Appeals.
Submitted: March 15, 2012 Decided: March 30, 2012
Before AGEE, DAVIS, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.
Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Alexander M. Chanthunya, Silver Spring, Maryland, for
Petitioner. Tony West, Assistant Attorney General, Holly M.
Smith, Senior Litigation Counsel, Kathryn L. Moore, UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Office of Immigration Litigation,
Washington, DC, for Respondent.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Joanmary Davis, a native and citizen of Tanzania,
petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration
Appeals (“Board”) dismissing her appeal from the order of the
immigration judge (“IJ”) pretermitting her application for
adjustment of status upon the IJ’s finding that she falsely
represented herself to be a United States citizen in order to
gain an immigration benefit. We deny the petition for review.
An alien “who falsely represents, or has falsely
represented, himself to be a citizen of the United States for
any purpose or benefit under this chapter . . . or any Federal
or State law is deportable.” 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(3)(D)(i)
(2006); see also Rodriguez v. Mukasey, 519 F.3d 773, 777 (8th
Cir. 2008) (an alien who falsely represented himself to be a
United States citizen in order to procure private employment has
falsely represented himself for a benefit or purpose under the
INA); see generally United States v. Casillo-Pena, --- F.3d ---,
No. 10-5080 (4th Cir. March 22, 2012). The Government bears the
burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence that an
alien who was admitted to the United States is removable. 8
U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(3)(A) (2006).
In order to establish prima facie eligibility for
adjustment of status, an alien must show she is admissible. See
8 U.S.C. § 1255(a) (2006). An alien who falsely represents
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herself to be a United States citizen in order to gain a benefit
under the law is inadmissible. See 8 U.S.C.
§ 1182(a)(6)(C)(ii)(I) (2006).
No decision on removability is valid “unless it is
based upon reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence.” 8
U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(3)(A). This court’s review of a final order
of removal, however, is limited. See 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b) (2006).
This case turns on factual findings, which are “conclusive
unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude
to the contrary.” 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B) (2006).
We conclude that the evidence before the IJ supports
her finding, by the applicable clear and convincing standard,
that Davis falsely represented herself to be a United States
citizen in order to gain employment. Davis was not eligible for
employment. However, the IJ found that she sought employment
and completed the employee portion of the Form I-9. The form
was signed by Davis and the box indicating that she was a
national or United States citizen was checked. She also
provided documents establishing her identity and eligibility to
work. While she denied checking the box indicating she was a
national or citizen, other evidence showed that Davis told a
special agent with the DHS that she checked the box because she
was married to a citizen. This, along with other evidence, led
to the IJ’s adverse credibility finding, which we conclude is
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supported by substantial evidence. See Djadjou v. Holder, 662
F.3d 265, 273 (4th Cir. 2011) (stating standard of review).
Based on the evidence of record, we conclude that the
immigration judge did not err in her finding that Davis falsely
represented herself to be a United States citizen in order to
gain employment. Accordingly, Davis was removable and not
eligible for adjustment of status.
We deny the petition for review. We dispense with
oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
adequately presented in the materials before the court and
argument would not aid the decisional process.
PETITION DENIED
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