Chhetri v. Mukasey , 258 F. App'x 594 ( 2007 )


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  •                             UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    No. 07-1358
    BIJAY KUMAR CHHETRI,
    Petitioner,
    versus
    MICHAEL B. MUKASEY, Attorney General,
    Respondent.
    No. 07-1749
    BIJAY KUMAR CHHETRI,
    Petitioner,
    versus
    MICHAEL B. MUKASEY, Attorney General,
    Respondent.
    On Petitions for Review of Orders of the Board of Immigration
    Appeals. (A93-474-750)
    Submitted:   November 30, 2007          Decided:    December 18, 2007
    Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.
    Petitions denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    Khagendra Gharti-Chhetry, CHHETRY & ASSOCIATES, P.C., New York, New
    York, for Petitioner.      Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney
    General, M. Jocelyn Lopez Wright, Assistant Director, Mona Maria
    Yousif, Office of Immigration Litigation, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
    OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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    PER CURIAM:
    In these consolidated cases, Bijay Kumar Chhetri, a
    native and citizen of Nepal, petitions for review of orders of the
    Board of Immigration Appeals (“Board”) dismissing his appeal from
    the immigration judge’s order denying his applications for asylum,
    withholding from removal and withholding under the Convention
    Against Torture (“CAT”) and denying his motion for reconsideration
    and to reopen.   We deny the petitions for review.
    Insofar as Chhetri petitions for review of the Board’s
    order dismissing his appeal from the immigration judge’s decision
    and that part of the subsequent order denying his motion for
    reconsideration, we deny the petition for review because Chhetri
    did not challenge either decision in the argument section of his
    brief.   “It is a well settled rule that contentions not raised in
    the argument section of the opening brief are abandoned.”    United
    States v. Al-Hamdi, 
    356 F.3d 564
    , 571 n.8 (4th Cir. 2004).     This
    rule applies in the immigration context as well.     See Yousefi v.
    INS, 
    260 F.3d 318
    , 326 (4th Cir. 2001) (issues not raised in the
    opening brief are abandoned).
    We further find the Board did not abuse its discretion in
    denying the motion to reopen based on his marriage to a United
    States citizen or because of changed conditions in Nepal.      This
    court reviews the Board’s denial of a motion to reopen for abuse of
    discretion.   8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(a) (2007); INS v. Doherty, 502 U.S.
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    314, 323-24 (1992); Nibagwire v. Gonzales, 
    450 F.3d 153
    , 156 (4th
    Cir. 2006).   A denial of a motion to reopen must be reviewed with
    extreme deference, since immigration statutes do not contemplate
    reopening   and   the   applicable     regulations   disfavor    motions    to
    reopen.   M.A. v. INS, 
    899 F.2d 304
    , 308 (4th Cir. 1990) (en banc).
    In   explaining   the   degree   of    deference   given   to   the   agency’s
    discretionary review, we have observed that the decision to deny a
    motion to reopen “need only be reasoned, not convincing.”              
    Id. at 310 (internal
    quotation marks and citation omitted).                  We will
    reverse a denial of a motion to reopen only if the denial is
    “arbitrary, capricious, or contrary to law.”           Barry v. Gonzales,
    
    445 F.3d 741
    , 745 (4th Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and
    citation omitted), cert. denied, 
    127 S. Ct. 1147
    (2007).
    A properly filed motion to reopen for adjustment of
    status based on marriage entered into after the commencement of
    proceedings may be granted in the exercise of discretion if clear
    and convincing evidence presented indicates a strong likelihood
    that the marriage is bona fide.         In re Velarde-Pacheco, 23 I. & N.
    Dec. 253, 256 (B.I.A. 2002).      The relevant immigration regulations
    set forth the types of documents that a petitioner should submit in
    order to establish that his or her “marriage was entered into in
    good faith and not entered into for the purpose of procuring the
    alien’s entry as an immigrant.”           8 C.F.R. § 204.2(a)(1)(iii)(B)
    (2007).   The types of documents the petitioner may submit include,
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    but are not limited to:    (1) Documentation showing joint ownership
    of property; (2) Lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence;
    (3)   Documentation   showing   commingling   of   financial   resources;
    (4) Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to the petitioner and
    beneficiary; (5) Affidavits of third parties having knowledge of
    the bona fides of the marital relationship; or (6) Any other
    documentation that is relevant to establish the marriage was not
    entered into in order to evade immigration laws.          
    Id. We note Chhetri
    did not provide any of the suggested documentation.
    We further find Chhetri failed to show changed country
    conditions in Nepal made him eligible for relief under the CAT.
    Accordingly, we deny the petitions for review.             We
    dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions
    are adequately presented in the materials before the court and
    argument would not aid the decisional process.
    PETITIONS DENIED
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