Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit January 18, 2006, Docket 03-4202 (Jose Joaquin-Porras v. Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General of the United States)

SACK, Circuit Judge.

The petitioner, Jose Joaquin-Porras, entered the United States from Costa Rica in 1991 under a temporary work visa. He resided in this country continuously, except for a few brief excursions to Costa Rica pursuant to “paroles” granted by the Immigration and Naturalization , Service (“INS”), until the INS initiated removal proceedings against him in 2000.