Torres-Rendon v. Holder, 656 F.3d 456 (7th Cir. Aug. 23, 2011) (a waiver of the fraud under former INA 241(f) applies only to those inadmissible on grounds of fraud; respondent was inadmissible on grounds of a controlled substance conviction); citing Matter of Sosa"Hernandez, 20 I. & N. Dec. 758, 760"61 (BIA 1993) (a waiver under INA 241(f) waives not only deportability but also the underlying fraud, thereby validating the applicant's lawful permanent resident status and making him theoretically eligible for a 212(c) waiver).
NOTE: The courts reasoning is arguably faulty. In Sosa-Hernandez, the INS never charged the respondent with fraud, only with deportability for having been convicted of a controlled substance offense. In addition to finding deportability as charged for the drug trafficking offense, the IJ found sua sponte that he was excludable for fraud at the time of his entry as a LPR. See Matter of Sosa-Hernandez, 20 I&N Dec. 758, 759 (BIA 1993). Thus, the procedural posture of Sosa-Hernandez lines up with Torres: in both cases, there was commission of fraud at the time of entry as a LPR, the respondent was convicted for drug trafficking, and charged only with deportability for the drug offense, and IJ found an additional ground of deportability.
In Torres, the IJ found that he was inadmissible for fraud in 2009 when he returned from a trip abroad; the BIA reversed that part of the IJ's decision and agreed that he was excludable in 1984 at the time of his entry. The BIA's reasoning for avoiding a direct application of Sosa-Hernandez was abominable: in Torres, the DHS challenged his eligibility for a 241(f) waiver and refused to charge him with an I-261 for the fraud ground. Thus, because DHS never charged him formally with being excludable at the time of entry in 1984 (before he pled guilty to drug trafficking), he does not qualify for a 241(f) waiver even though both the IJ and the BIA agreed that he had committed fraud as noted above.
Thanks to Maria Baldini-Potermin.