Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Stevic

Predrag Stevic (defendant) entered the United States in 1976 on a visitor’s visa from Yugoslavia. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (plaintiff) began deportation proceedings against Stevic when he overstayed his visa, and Stevic initially agreed to depart voluntarily in February 1977. In January 1977, Stevic married a United States citizen and obtained approval of a visa petition through his wife. However, Stevic’s wife died shortly thereafter in an automobile accident, and the INS revoked Stevic’s visa petition. Stevic moved to reopen the deportation proceedings in August 1977, seeking relief under Section 243(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Stevic stated in his affidavit that he was active in an anti-Communist organization and that his family had been imprisoned in Yugoslavia because of anti-Communist activities. Stevic also asserted that he feared imprisonment if he returned to Yugoslavia. The immigration judge denied Stevic’s motion to reopen the deportation proceedings without an evidentiary hearing, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) upheld the immigration judge’s decision. Stevic filed another motion to reopen the deportation proceedings in February 1980 after an amendment to Section 243(h) of the INA. The BIA denied the second motion, finding Stevic had failed to show evidence of a clear probability of persecution against him. Stevic appealed to the Second Circuit, which reversed the BIA decision. The Second Circuit found that Stevic could avoid deportation by merely demonstrating a well-founded fear of persecution, requiring a new hearing. Stevic and the INS appealed to the Supreme Court. Stevic argued he was entitled to avoid deportation because he met the well-founded-fear-of-persecution standard, a standard that is identical to clear probability of persecution. The INS argued the standards are not identical and Stevic needed to demonstrate a clear probability of persecution.