KEKICH

Citations

• 19 I. & N. Dec. 198

Syllabus

KEKICH, 19 I&N Dec. 198 (BIA 1984) ID 2983 (PDF) (1) Where expatriation is in issue, commission of any of the acts specified in section 349(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1481(a) (1982), may be viewed as highly persuasive evidence of an intent to abandon United States citizenship and under section 349(c), the Government satisfies its evidentiary burden by showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the citizen has committed an intentional expatriating act. Matter of Wayne, 16 I&N Dec. 248 (BIA 1977), overruled (as to evidentiary standard to be applied). (2) Citizenship will not be lost when the citizen commits an expatriating act under circumstances involving duress, mistake, or incapacity negating a free choice however, a presumption exists under section 349 that an expatriating act is voluntary unless rebutted. (3) Where the petitioner failed to distinguish between coercion and motivation, the Board of Immigration Appeals concluded that her naturalization in Venezuela was not the result of coercion, but rather the result of personal choice, and consequently voluntary.