Opinion
No. 10-71888 Agency No. A088-286-070
03-15-2012
RUIGANG LIU, Petitioner, v. ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
MEMORANDUM
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted March 6, 2012
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
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Before: B. FLETCHER, REINHARDT, and TASHIMA, Circuit Judges.
Ruigang Liu, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge's decision denying his motion to reopen removal proceedings conducted in absentia. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to reopen, and review de novo questions of law. Sembiring v. Gonzales, 499 F.3d 981, 985 (9th Cir. 2007). We deny the petition for review.
The agency did not abuse its discretion or commit legal error in denying Liu's motion to reopen on the ground that his mistake concerning his hearing date did not constitute exceptional circumstances beyond his control that would excuse his failure to appear. See 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(e)(1); Valencia-Fragoso v. INS, 321 F.3d 1204, 1205-06 (9th Cir. 2003) (per curiam) (finding no exceptional circumstances where petitioner misunderstood the time of her hearing).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.