Jacobs, Ch. J., Leval and Sack, C.JJ.
http://nycourts.law.com/CourtDocumentViewer.asp?view=Document&docID=118598
PLAINTIFF entered the country in October 1987 and became a permanent resident in November 1988. In December 1993 he was sentenced to 16 months in prison, and two years’ supervision, after pleading guilty to defrauding a bank. The government sought deportation as an alien convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude. In April 1996, plaintiff was granted waiver of deportation under §212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. In 2005, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) denied him citizenship, as precluded from showing “good moral character” due to his conviction for an aggravated felony as defined by 8 USC §1101(a)(43)(M)(i) and (U). The circuit affirmed judgment for the government, rejecting plaintiff’s claim that, under United States v. Kilkenny, because he was convicted of bank fraud, not attempted bank fraud, §1101(a)(43)(U) was inapplicable. In rejecting his claim that §1101(a)(43)(U) was void for vagueness, the panel saw no reason why an ordinary person or CIS official would not understand that a conviction for “attempt” under 18 USC §1344 qualified as a conviction for an “attempt” under Subsection (U). It also rejected his assertion that his §212(c) waiver from deportation established his good moral character.
