Chaudhry Ashraf v. Loretta E. Lynch, 819 F.3d 1051

Ashraf, a Pakistani national, received conditional lawful permanent resident status based on marriage to a U.S. citizen on September 8, 2000 (date of admission). The marriage (Aug. 22, 1999) was a sham.
Ashraf and his spouse signed a joint I-751 petition to remove conditions on July 13, 2002; they later divorced. The criminal judgment reflected the offense concluded on July 13, 2002.
In 2007 Ashraf was charged in federal court and pled guilty to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (admitting the conspiracy spanned Aug. 22, 1999–Oct. 28, 2004). He was sentenced to probation.
DHS charged removability under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(i): conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years after admission. Ashraf conceded the offense was a crime involving moral turpitude but disputed the timing.
The IJ and BIA found Ashraf’s conspiracy extended through July 13, 2002 (the I-751 filing), placing the conviction within five years of his admission; BIA dismissed his appeal. Ashraf petitioned for review.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Ashraf’s conspiracy conviction was "committed" within five years after admission (i.e., whether the conspiracy continued through the I-751 filing)	Ashraf: the substantive crime of marriage fraud was completed on the marriage date (Aug. 22, 1999); post-marriage acts are only circumstantial and cannot extend the offense date; he was not part of a broader continuing conspiracy	Government: conspiracy is a continuing offense that lasts until the last overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy; submission of the I-751 was an overt act occurring July 13, 2002, within five years of admission	Court: Conspiracy is continuing; submission of the I-751 was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy, so the crime extended to July 13, 2002 and falls within five years of admission; removability upheld

Banat v. Holder, 557 F.3d 886 (8th Cir. 2009) (standards of review for BIA decisions)
United States v. Bennett, 765 F.3d 887 (8th Cir. 2014) (conspiracy is a continuing offense; limitations runs from last overt act)
United States v. Farmer, 73 F.3d 836 (8th Cir. 1996) (conspiracy continuation through last overt act)
United States v. Garfinkel, 29 F.3d 1253 (8th Cir. 1994) (conspiracy continuing-offense principle)
United States v. Stewart, 744 F.3d 17 (1st Cir. 2014) (holding I-751 submission was an overt act in furtherance of sham-marriage conspiracy)
United States v. Rojas, 718 F.3d 1317 (11th Cir. 2013) (holding substantive marriage-fraud offense completes on marriage date; distinguished here because Ashraf pleaded to conspiracy)