Hasanaj V. Ashcroft

This is an immigration case in which the petitioner, Ardian Hasanaj, seeks review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") affirming a removal order issued in Immigration Court. Hasanaj is a 31-year-old native of Albania, who entered the United States in April 1997 at one of Chicago's airports. At the time he presented a Swiss passport which had been purchased in Albania. A Notice to Appear dated May 5, 1997, indicated that Hasanaj was subject to removal on the grounds that he sought to enter the United States by fraud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact, and that he was not in possession of a valid unexpired passport or a valid visa or any other valid entry document. At the hearing, petitioner conceded removability and applied for asylum and withholding of removal.