Matter of J. R. VELASQUEZ, ID 3739, 25 I&N Dec. 680 (BIA 2012)

Matter of J. R. VELASQUEZ, ID 3739, 25 I&N Dec. 680 (BIA 2012) - (1) The documents listed in section 240(c)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(3)(B) (2006), and 8 C.F.R. § 1003.41(a) (2011) are admissible as evidence of a criminal conviction in immigration proceedings, but pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 1003.41(d), other probative evidence may also be admitted to prove a conviction in the discretion of the Immigration Judge. (2) Conviction records that were submitted by electronic means are conclusively admissible as evidence of a criminal conviction in immigration proceedings if they are authenticated in the manner specified by section 240(c)(3)(C) of theAct and 8 C.F.R. § 1003.41(c), but those methods of authentication, which operate as “safe harbors,” are not mandatory or exclusive, and documents that are authenticated in other ways may be admitted if they are found to be reliable. (3) A document that requires authentication but that is not authenticated is not admissible as “other evidence that reasonably indicates the existence of a criminal conviction” within the meaning of 8 C.F.R. § 1003.41(d).