USCA11 Case: 21-12917 Date Filed: 03/24/2022 Page: 1 of 10 [PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 21-12917 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ FUAD FARES FUAD SAID, Petitioner, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ____________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals Agency No. A061-822-928 ____________________ USCA11 Case: 21-12917 Date Filed: 03/24/2022 Page: 2 of 10 2 Opinion of the Court 21-12917 Before JORDAN, NEWSOM, and TJOFLAT, Circuit Judges. TJOFLAT, Circuit Judge: Fuad Fares Fuad Said seeks review of the Board of Immigra- tion Appeals’ (“BIA”) final order affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his application for cancellation of removal. He ar- gues that he satisfied his burden of demonstrating his eligibility for cancellation of removal for certain lawful permanent residents be- cause his violation of Fla. Stat. § 893.13(6)(a) did not relate to a con- trolled substance, as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 802, and, thus, did not prevent him from accruing the necessary seven-year period of con- tinuous residence. When the BIA issues a decision, we review only that deci- sion, except to the extent that the BIA expressly adopts the IJ’s de- cision or agrees with the IJ’s reasoning. Gonzalez v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 820 F.3d 399, 403 (11th Cir. 2016). We review the BIA’s legal determinations de novo. Delgado v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 487 F.3d 855, 860 (11th Cir. 2007); see also Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 842–44, 104 S. Ct. 2778, 2781–83 (1984) (noting that deference applies only “[w]hen a court reviews an agency’s construction of the statute which it administers”). Under INA § 240A, a petitioner is eligible for discretionary cancellation of removal if he has resided continuously in the United States for at least seven years after having been admitted for per- manent residence for at least five years and has not been convicted USCA11 Case: 21-12917 Date Filed: 03/24/2022 Page: 3 of 10 21-12917 Opinion of the Court 3 of an aggravated felony. INA § 240A(a), 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a). Pur- suant to INA § 240A(d)(1), 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(d)(1), any period of continuous residence or physical presence in INA § 240A(a), 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a), ends when the alien has committed one of sev- eral offenses specified in INA § 212(a)(2), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2). Sec- tion 212(a) provides that any alien who commits a violation of any state law or regulation relating to a controlled substance, as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 802, is inadmissible. INA § 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II); 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i). Federal law defines marijuana as: [A]ll parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin. [Marijuana] does not include . . . the mature stalks of such plant, fiber pro- duced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds …
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