AAO 212(h) Hardship Waiver Victory: Matter of D-M-V-, ID# 15302

Matter of D-M-V-, ID# 15302 (AAO Jan. 28, 2016) - "The Applicant was found to be inadmissible to the United States pursuant to section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I), for having been convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude. He filed a Form 1-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, on October 10,2014. The Applicant seeks a waiver of inadmissibility pursuant to section 212(h) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(h), in order to reside in the United States with his U.S. citizen family members. In a decision dated April 2, 2015, the Director denied the Form 1-601 as a matter of discretion, citing to a lack of evidence of rehabilitation or family contribution, additional criminal convictions, and sporadic employment as the negative factors that outweighed the positive factors in determining that discretion was not warranted. On appeal, the Applicant asserts that the Director did not consider all of the evidence, including evidence of the Applicant's mental health condition, and failed to consider all of the hardship factors in the aggregate or follow and apply relevant case law, particularly Matter of Mendez-Moralez, 21 I&N Dec. 296, 299 (BIA 1996), with regard to the exercise of discretion. The Applicant submits a brief and resubmits evidence filed with the Form 1-601. ... When considering the totality of the circumstances, we find that the positive factors in this case, including the Applicant's family ties, length of residence in the United States, and hardship to himself and his family members if he is removed, outweigh the negative factors, and he merits a favorable exercise of discretion. ... Accordingly, we will sustain the appeal."  [Hats off to Michael Carlin!]