Eleventh Circuit NOtes Split Re INA Sec. 212(c) Interpretation

Per De La Rosa v. U.S. Attorney General, --- F.3d ----, 2009 WL 2527296 (11th Cir. Aug. 20, 2009):

As it stands, there exists a three-way circuit split on the question of whether certain deportees who have not temporarily left the country are eligible for [Immigration and Naturalization Act] § 212(c) relief. The BIA and the majority of our sister circuits have adopted the Francis v. INS, 532 F.2d 268, 272 (2d Cir.1976) rule and have applied the categorical approach when dealing with the resulting statutory counterpart test.^FN11

FN11. See, e.g., Gonzalez-Mesias v. Mukasey, 529 F.3d 62, 64-65 (1st Cir.2008); Caroleo v. Gonzales, 476 F.3d 158, 162-63 (3d Cir.2007); Vo v. Gonzales, 482 F.3d 363, 372 (5th Cir.2007); Koussan v. Holder, 556 F.3d 403, 412-13 (6th Cir.2009); Valere v. Gonzales, 473 F.3d 757, 762 (7th Cir.2007); Soriano v. Gonzales, 489 F.3d 909 (8th Cir.2006) (per curiam).