THE 9TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS RULES IN FAVOR OF IRANIAN MAN
Khodagholian, an Iranian man who was in danger of losing his U.S. residency for having stayed in Iran for too long was vindicated by the ruling of the court and gets to keep his "green card".
Khodagholian, was admitted to the United States as an LPR on July 5, 1993, when he was 41 years old. He arrived with his wife and their two children, who were also admitted as
lawful permanent residents. Khodagholian admitted that when he and his family first
came to the United States, he was not sure whether they would stay, in light of all the uncertainties associated with such a move. Thus, Khodagholian and his family moved cautiously. They brought $14,000 with them, but did not sell off everything they owned in Iran. In the five years in the United States from July 1993 to September 1998, excluding the periods he was in Iran, Khodagholian and his family lived in the Los Angeles area. He worked sporadically doing electrical work, telemarketing, and painting. It is not clear how often he worked or how much he was paid, but it appears from the record that he worked intermittently at best. Khodagholian’s wife was employed during
much of that time, apparently until approximately one month prior to the hearing before the immigration judge. Their son attended high school in this country from 1993 to 1997 and college starting in 1997. Their daughter attended school here as well, at least
from 1996.
The challenge to Khodagholian’s status was based primarily upon three trips he made to Iran during the five years and two months between the time he and his family arrived in July 1993 and his return from his third trip in September 1998. First, in September 1993, he left for roughly four months. The purpose of the trip was to sell some items and gather documents needed for the children’s schools and other purposes in
the United States. His wife and children went with him to Iran, but they returned to California after two months. He stayed on in Iran alone for the last two months. Second, in 1995, Khodagholian went to Iran by himself for five to six months to care for his dying mother and his recently orphaned nephews. Third, Khodagholian was gone from June 1997 to September 1998, or roughly 15 months. That trip was made alone, while his wife and children remained in the United States. The stated purpose was to sell the family’s house in Iran.
When Khodagholian arrived in Iran,1 he was stopped by the police at the airport and notified of a tax bill from a partnership he had sold before coming to the United States. He was told that he was barred from leaving Iran until the taxes were paid.
The immigration judge found that, due to that unexpected development, Khodagholian, was stuck in Iran until April 27, 1998, when the Iranian government cleared him to go. Khodagholian did not return to the United States immediately after that, however, a fact that the judge concluded to be significant, as will be noted below. Khodagholian argued that he had borrowed the money to pay the tax bill, and had to stay on in order to pay back that debt.
Upon re-entry into the United States on or around September 4, 1998, Khodagholian was stopped when attempting to enter using his green. After an interview, the INS suspected that he did not qualify as a "returning resident," because he had overrun the one-year regulatory limit on re-entering without needing a re-entry permit.
The Ninth Circuit concluded that the fact that he stayed on for just four months after
resolving his tax problem cannot reasonably show that he lacked a continuous, uninterrupted intention to return. Khodagholian was represented by Ms. Susan Hill of Los Angeles.