Clarke v. Sessions
697 F. App'x 61
| 2d Cir. | 2017Background
- Clarke, a Jamaican national, obtained conditional resident status through marriage to a U.S. citizen and later divorced.
- He applied to remove the conditions on his residency but sought a waiver of the joint-petition requirement on the ground the marriage was entered into in good faith and later ended (8 U.S.C. § 1186a(c)(4)(B)).
- The Immigration Judge (IJ) found Clarke failed to establish the marriage was entered into in good faith and denied the waiver; the BIA affirmed.
- Clarke petitioned for review in the Second Circuit, challenging the agency’s evaluation of his evidence and the denial of the waiver.
- The panel reviewed the IJ decision as supplemented by the BIA and considered limits on appellate review of discretionary waivers.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether this Court has jurisdiction to review the agency’s discretionary denial of a § 1186a waiver | Clarke argued the agency misweighted evidence and that denial was reviewable | Government argued denial is discretionary and review is limited to constitutional and legal questions, not factual-weighting | Dismissed for lack of jurisdiction to review agency’s factual weight determinations; court limited to questions of law and constitutionality |
| Whether substantial evidence supports the agency’s finding that Clarke did not enter the marriage in good faith | Clarke contended the evidence showed his marriage was bona fide (e.g., family ties) and the IJ improperly relied on lack of documents | Government argued record evidence did not establish good-faith marriage; missing/insufficient proof supported denial | Court noted even if it had jurisdiction, substantial evidence supports the IJ/BIA finding that Clarke failed to prove the marriage was entered into in good faith |
Key Cases Cited
- Wala v. Mukasey, 511 F.3d 102 (2d Cir.) (standard for reviewing IJ decisions as supplemented by the BIA)
- Contreras-Salinas v. Holder, 585 F.3d 710 (2d Cir. 2009) (no review of discretionary fact-weighting in joint-petition waiver denials)
- Boluk v. Holder, 642 F.3d 297 (2d Cir.) (amount of weight given evidence is not a question of law)
- Nguyen v. Holder, 743 F.3d 311 (2d Cir.) (substantial-evidence review of good-faith marriage findings)