Appellate Case: 21-9551 Document: 010110690053 Date Filed: 05/27/2022 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT May 27, 2022 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court HAMED AL-ABBODI, Petitioner, v. No. 21-9551 (Petition for Review) MERRICK B. GARLAND, United States Attorney General, Respondent. _________________________________ ORDER AND JUDGMENT* _________________________________ Before BACHARACH, BALDOCK, and EID, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ Hamed Al-Abbodi, a native and citizen of Iraq proceeding pro se,1 seeks review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that dismissed his appeal from an order entered by an Immigration Judge (IJ). We dismiss the petition for review in part for lack of jurisdiction and otherwise deny the petition. * After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1. 1 Because Al-Abbodi proceeds pro se, we construe his filings liberally but do not serve as his advocate. See Garrett v. Selby Connor Maddux & Janer, 425 F.3d 836, 840 (10th Cir. 2005). Appellate Case: 21-9551 Document: 010110690053 Date Filed: 05/27/2022 Page: 2 I. Background Al-Abbodi entered the United States as a refugee in 1992 after “engag[ing] in anti-government activities” related to Saddam Hussein’s regime, Admin. R., vol. 1 at 6. He later committed several crimes, including “felony burglary, retail theft, assault and battery, child neglect/abuse, criminal mischief, and violation of a protective order.” Id., vol. 2 at 840. In 1998, the government charged him with removability under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), as a noncitizen convicted of two or more crimes of moral turpitude, and 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), as a noncitizen convicted of an aggravated felony. Al-Abbodi missed the removal hearing due to his incarceration on some of his convictions, and an IJ ordered him removed to Iraq in absentia. But the government did not remove Al-Abbodi. So he continued to live in the United States, and in 2003 he married a United States citizen. His wife later filed an I-130 visa petition that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved. Then in 2015, Al-Abbodi successfully petitioned the BIA to reopen his immigration proceedings to seek (1) adjustment of status to permanent resident based on either his approved visa petition under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a), or his tenure in the United States under 8 U.S.C. § 1159(a)–(b), and (2) protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) based on changed country conditions in Iraq. In the immigration proceedings, Al-Abbodi conceded that his criminal convictions rendered him inadmissible under 8 U.S.C. § 1182 such that the Attorney General would need to waive his inadmissibility under …
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