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CA7 on Burden of Proof: Hernandez Lara v. Lynch

June 19, 2015 (1 min read)

"Hernandez testified at the removal hearing that he had entered his marriage in good faith and the government offered no evidence to the contrary. Without making a credibility finding, the immigration judge determined that Hernandez’s marriage was not bona fide and ordered him removed. The Board of Immigration Appeals evaluated Hernandez’s appeal on the assumption that everything he said about his marriage was credible and yet went on to conclude that he had not met his burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that his marriage was bona fide. Given Hernandez’s testimony that he had married for love, not immigration benefits — and the government’s lack of evidence — the Board’s conclusion implies that it demanded from Hernandez more proof than necessary to satisfy a preponderance standard. That reasoning constitutes a legal error warranting remand, and thus we grant Hernandez’s petition for review." - Hernandez Lara v. Lynch, June 18, 2015.  [Hats off to Saadi Siddique!]

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