Arguijo v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Immigration
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 20-1471
Decision Date: 
March 12, 2021
Federal District: 
N.D. Ill., E. Div.
Holding: 
Reversed and remanded

Dist. Ct. erred in confirming decision of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to deny application under Violence Against Women's Act, 8 USC section 1154(a)(1)(A)(iv), from petitioner (citizen of Honduras) for permanent residency based on claim that petitioner was "child" of U.S. citizen, who had experienced domestic violence at hands of said U.S citizen. Record showed that petitioner's mother married U.S. citizen in 1999 and divorced him in 2004, and Dist. Ct. and agency based denial on belief that petitioner no longer remained "child" of her stepfather after petitioner's mother had divorced him in 2004. Ct. of Appeals, though, found that in context of instant Violence Against Women Act, "stepchild" status survived mother's divorce so as to require agency to act on merits of petitioner's application.