PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ______________ No. 22-1249 ______________ REINALDO CORTEZ-AMADOR, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ______________ On Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigrations Appeals (Agency No. A209-898-885) Immigration Judge: Jason L. Pope ______________ Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) December 08, 2022 Before: SHWARTZ, MATEY, and FUENTES, Circuit Judges (Filed: April 25, 2023) Pedro J. Familia Laura S. Rodriguez American Friends Service Committee Immigrant Rights Program 570 Broad Street Suite 1001 Newark, NJ 07102 Counsel for Petitioner Lisa Morinelli Tim Ramnitz United States Department of Justice Office of Immigration Litigation P.O. Box 878 Ben Franklin Station Washington, DC 20044 Counsel for Respondent ______________ OPINION OF THE COURT ______________ FUENTES, Circuit Judge. Reinaldo Cortez-Amador petitions this Court for review of a final order of removal of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), dismissing the appeal of an Immigration Judge’s (IJ) decision denying Petitioner’s motion to terminate removal proceedings and his applications for adjustment of status, asylum and withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Because we lack jurisdiction to review factual findings on an adjustment 2 application and the agency decisions do not reflect any error of law or are otherwise supported by substantial evidence, we will dismiss the petition in part and deny it in part. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Petitioner fled from Guatemala to the United States at the age of 16 following his father’s murder by gang members. He entered the United States in 2016 without inspection and was placed by Immigration Authorities in his sister’s custody in Trenton, New Jersey. In January 2020, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) granted him Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS”), a classification available to immigrants who are under 21 and were abandoned by their parents. 1 1 As relevant here, the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) states that the following qualify as special immigrants: (J) an immigrant who is present in the United States-- (i) who has been declared dependent on a juvenile court located in the United States or whom such a court has legally committed to, or placed under the custody of, an agency or department of a State, or an individual or entity appointed by a State or juvenile court located in the United States, and whose reunification with 1 or both of the immigrant’s parents is not viable due to abuse, neglect, 3 Noncitizen children may receive SIJS only after satisfying a set of rigorous, congressionally defined eligibility criteria, including that a juvenile court has found it would not be in the child’s best interest to return to their country of last habitual residence and that the child is dependent on the court or placed in the custody of the state or someone appointed by the state. 2 The child must also receive approval from USCIS and the consent of the Secretary of Homeland Security to obtain the status. 3 A recipient of SIJS may pursue legal permanent …
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