The petitioner was advised by a non-attorney that he did not need to attend his removal hearing because he had an application for permanent residency pending based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen. Though the non-attorney did not hold himself out as an attorney, he did tell the petitioner he was an immigration expert. The Third Circuit determined that the petitioner’s decision to rely on this advice did not constitute “exceptional circumstances” sufficient to reopen his in absentia removal order.
The full text of Louis v. Attorney General can be found here: