The Sixth Circuit has determined that the Immigration Court may “complete” a Notice to Appear by issuing a notice of hearing specifying the time and place of the first removal hearing. Issuance of the notice of hearing is sufficient to trigger the stop time rule for cancellation of removal purposes. The court determined that the statute was unambiguous, making it unnecessary to defer to the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision in Matter of Mendoza-Hernandez, which reached the same outcome. The court also noted that its decision was at odds with the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Lopez v. Barr.
The full text of Garcia -Romo v. Barr can be found here:
http://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/19a0255p-06.pdf