Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Phinpathya (464 U.S. 183)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 10, 1984 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 464 U.S. 183 · 104 S. Ct. 584
- Decided
- January 10, 1984
- Term
- October Term 1983
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice O'Connor
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice O’Connor delivered the opinion of the Court. In § 244(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act), 66 Stat. 214, as amended, 8 U. S. C. § 1254(a)(1), Congress provided that the Attorney General in his discretion may suspend deportation and adjust the status of an otherwise deportable alien who (1) “has been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of not less than seven years”; (2) “is a person of good moral character”; and (3) is “a person whose deportation would, in the opinion of the Attorney General, result in extreme hardship to the alien or to his spouse, parent, or child . . . In this case we must decide the meaning of §244(a)(l)’s “continuous physical presence” requirement. I Respondent, a native and citizen of Thailand, first entered the United States as a nonimmigrant student in October 1969. Respondent’s husband, also a native and citizen of Thailand, entered the country in August 1968. Respondent and her husband were authorized to remain in the United States until July 1971. However, when their visas expired, they chose to stay without securing permission from the immigration authorities. In January 1977, petitioner, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), commenced deportation proceedings against respondent and her husband pursuant to § 241(a)(2) of the Act. See 8 U. S. C. § 1251(a)(2). Respondent and her husband…
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