BIA HOLDS THAT ONE CONVICTED UNDER INA § 212(a)(2)(B) OF TWO OR MORE OFFENSES FOR WHICH THE AGGREGATE SENTENCES WERE FIVE YEARS OR MORE IS INELIGIBLE FOR CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL FOR NONPERMANENT RESIDENTS PER INA §240A(b)(1)(C).  

On September 23, 2014, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), dismissing an appeal and reinstating a grant of voluntary departure, held that the language of INA § 240A(b)(1)(C)—which makes ineligible for cancellation of removal for certain nonpermanent residents one who has been “convicted of an offense under [INA] section 212(a)(2)”, among other sections—encompasses all of the provisions of that section that are based on a respondent’s conviction, including §212(a)(2)(B) (multiple convictions for which the aggregate sentences were 5 years or more). The BIA found no merit to the respondent’s argument that the reference to §212(a)(2) is limited to the offenses described in §212(a)(2)(A)(i) (crimes involving moral turpitude and violations of controlled substance laws). Matter of Pina-Galindo, 26 I. & N. Dec. 423 (BIA 2014).