Bouras v. Holder

Bouras, a citizen of Algeria, entered the U.S. in 1997 as a nonimmigrant business visitor and overstayed his visa. In 2006, while living in Chicago, he married Schreiner, who lived in Ohio. He was granted conditional permanent resident status based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen. For most of their two-and-a-half year marriage, Bouras continued working in Chicago; Schreiner remained in Ohio. For at least six months, Bouras was in Algeria alone, visiting family. The marriage ended by divorce before Bouras had obtained unconditional permanent residency. He was placed in removal proceedings after he failed to convince USCIS that he had entered the marriage in good faith, 8 U.S.C. 1186a(c)(4)(B). Bouras testified, but neither his ex-wife nor any other witness appeared at the hearing to testify about the marriage. Bouras sought a continuance so that his ex-wife could testify. The immigration judge denied that request, stating that no “extenuating circumstances” justified a continuance and finding that Bouras had not established the marriage had been in good faith. The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld that decision. The Seventh Circuit denied review; denial of Bouras’s last-minute request for a continuance was not an abuse of discretion. View "Bouras v. Holder" on Justia Law