U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2011

Richard Bernard v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

Richard Bernard v. Eric H. Holder Jr.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Decided March 25, 2011 · Farris, O'Scannlain, Bybee
424 F. App'x 668

Richard Bernard v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Richard Bernard, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for suspension of deportation as a battered spouse, and denying his motion to reopen. *669 We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual determinations, Hernandez v. Ashcroft, 345 F.3d 824, 832 (9th Cir. 2003), and for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to reopen, Singh v. INS, 295 F.3d 1037, 1039 (9th Cir. 2002). We deny the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s conclusion that Bernard failed to establish he was battered or subject to extreme cruelty by his former spouse. See 8 U.S.C. § 1254(a)(3) (repealed 1996); cf. Hernandez, 345 F.3d at 840-41.

The BIA did not abuse its discretion by denying Bernard’s motion to reopen, because his new evidence addressed only hardship resulting from removal and did not address the dispositive finding that Bernard failed to show he had been subjected to extreme cruelty or battery, and he therefore could not establish prima facie eligibility for suspension of deportation as a battered spouse. See Singh, 295 F.3d at 1039 (The BIA’s denial of a motion to reopen shall be reversed if it is “arbitrary, irrational, or contrary to law.”).

PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.

**

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.

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