Yang v. Holder

Yang, a citizen of China, entered the U.S. in 1998, as a tourist. In 2000, he married a U.S. citizen, who filed an I-130 visa petition and application for adjustment of status on Yang’s behalf, but withdrew her petition in 2003. , Yang’s application was denied after an investigation led USCIS to conclude that his marriage was fraudulent. In 2007 he divorced. Yang then filed an application for asylum and associated relief based on his practice of Falun Gong. Although Falun Gong was not officially banned in China until 1999, in 1998 the police arrested Yang and placed him in a cell overnight. Yang continued practicing Falun Gong in the U.S. and believed that Chinese officials knew of his practice. In 2008, Yang married Li, who immediately filed an I-130 petition on his behalf. USCIS sent notice of intent to deny, because it believed that Yang’s prior marriage had been a sham. Li submitted rebuttal materials, but USCIS lost them and denied the petition for lack of support. The IJ denied a continuance pending adjudication of the I-130. Yang also sought asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). He was unsuccessful. The Seventh Circuit remanded the BIA’s decision to uphold the IJ’s denial of a continuance pending adjudication of Yang’s I- 130. View "Yang v. Holder" on Justia Law