Matter of Pula

Pula (defendant) arrived in the United States from Yugoslavia in June 1986. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (plaintiff) immediately began exclusion proceedings. During the proceedings, Pula testified he was born in Albania, but when he was five years old, his family fled to Yugoslavia as refugees. Pula testified that Yugoslav police detained and assaulted him for allegedly being involved in Albanian anti-government demonstrations. Pula attempted to leave Yugoslavia in 1982, but the authorities denied him travel documents. In 1985, the government granted Pula a titre de voyage to travel to the United States, but the American embassy denied Pula a visa. Pula subsequently applied for a Yugoslav citizenship, relinquishing his refugee status. Pula testified that, due to his Yugoslav citizenship, he was denied refugee status in other European countries after he left Yugoslavia. Pula testified he purchased a fake titre de voyage in Brussels and then flew to the United States to apply for asylum. The immigration judge (IJ) found Pula had credibly testified to a clear probability of persecution if he returned to Yugoslavia but found Pula was not eligible for asylum. Pula appealed, arguing that the decision in Matter of Salim incorrectly interprets Section 208(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), resulting in the IJ giving undue weight to his use of the fraudulent travel document.