Carlos Roberto Vila v. U.S. Attorney General

PRYOR, Circuit Judge:

This petition presents the question whether an alien living in the United States with an approved 1-140 visa petition is “lawfully residing] ... in the United States” under section 212(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(h), which grants the Attorney General the discretion to waive the removal of an alien who has been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude. The Attorney General lacks the authority for an alien who has not “lawfully resided continuously” in the United States for the seven years before the initiation of his removal proceeding. Carlos…