See Matter of Chawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 375 (AAO 2010) (“Except where a different standard is specified by law, a petitioner or applicant in administrative immigration proceedings must prove by a preponderance of evidence that he or she is eligible for the benefit sought.”); see also Matter of Martinez, 21 I&N Dec. 1035, 1036 Case 2:17-cv-00249-JLR Document 17 Filed 06/30/17 Page 5 of 13 Plaintiff’s Motion for Henry Cruz Summary Judgment - 6 Rios & Cruz, P.S. Case No. 2:17-cv-00249-JLR 811 First Ave., Suite 340 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 749-5600 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (BIA 1997) (noting that the petitioner must prove eligibility by a preponderance of evidence in visa petition proceedings). II.

III. The Burden of Proof Finally, in visa petition proceedings before USCIS, the burden of proof rests with the petitioner to establish eligibility for the benefit sought by a preponderance of the evidence. See 8 U.S.C. § 1361; Matter of Chawathe, 25 I. & N. Dec. 369, Case 5:15-cv-01383-JGB-SP Document 30 Filed 09/15/16 Page 9 of 14 Page ID #:424 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 374-76 (AAO 2010); Matter of Martinez, 21 I. & N. Dec. 1035 (BIA 1997); Matter of Patel, 19 I. & N. Dec. 774 (BIA 1988). ARGUMENT I.