Alexandrov v. Gonzales

Todor D. Alexandrov was born on August 21, 1971, and is a native and citizen of Bulgaria. Alexandrov entered the United States in 1996 on a student visa to attend McNeese State University in Louisiana. He never attended the university, but on May 6, 1997, filed an administrative request for asylum. On September 26, 1997, Alexandrov received notice that his asylum application had been approved. Nearly six months later, however, the INS issued a notice of intent to terminate his asylum status based on its conclusion that Alexandrov had submitted fraudulent documents in support of his application. After a hearing, the immigration court agreed that the documents were fraudulent and that Alexandrov had submitted a frivolous asylum application within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. § 1158(d)(6) and 8 C.F.R. § 1208.20. Based on this finding, the court also made an adverse credibility finding against Alexandrov and denied all forms of relief. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed in a conclusory order adopting the findings of the immigration court. For the following reasons, we GRANT the petition for review and REMAND for further consideration - particularly of Alexandrovs adjustment of status to a lawful permanent resident based on his derivative eligibility - before a different immigration judge.