WOO

 Interim Decision #1618




                              MATECR or Woo
                       In Deportation Proceedings
                                 A-13693799
                    Decided by Board July 12,1968

Respondent, who gained admission to the United States upon the basis of a
  knowing and willful false claim to United States citizenship, has not been
  "Inspected and admitted" within the mooTone of section 245. Immigration
  and Nationality Act, as amended, and, therefore, is statutorily ineligible for
  adjustment of status under that section. [Matter of 2 , 9 L & N. Dec. 599,
                                                         —

  reaffirmed.]
orazaz:
  Order: Act of 1952—Section 241(a) (1) ES II.S.O. 1251(a) (1)3—Excludable
                      at entry under 8 U.S.C. 212(a) [1948 Ed.I—No immigration visa.


' This case is before us on appeal from a decision of a. special
 inquiry officer denying the application under section 245 of the
 Immigration and Nationality Act, granting voluntary departure
 and directing deportation if the respondent fails to depart voluntarily.
   The respondent is a 35-year-old unmarried male, native and
 citizen of China, who last entered the United States on November
 29, 1949 at which, time he secured entry on the claim that he was
 a United States citizen. Actually, he has never been a citizen and
 he was not in possession of an immigration visa at the time of
 entry. The respondent conceded deportability on the charge stated.
 in the order to show cause. The special inquiry officer denied the
 application for adjustment of status under section 245 on the ground
 that the respondent does not meet the statutory requirement concerning inspection at the time of entry. The sole issue is whether
 the special inquiry officer's action was correct.
   We have carefully considered counsel's contentions in his brief
 on appeal. With respect to the citation of Tibka v. immigration
and Natvii,allization Service, 

 (2d Cir., 1964), and Costello

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  v. konagration and Naturalisation Service, 

 (1964),
 these cases bear no analogy to that of the respondent,. Although
 the matter is not particularly material, we note that counsel asserts
 that the respondent presented hitncelf to the immigration officers at
 Hong Song whereas the record indicates that he actually appeared
 before immigration officers at San Francisco, California, the United
 States port of entry.
    The important question in this case relates to the language in
 section 245 limiting the adjustment of status to an alien "who was
 inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States". Counsel
 contends that the respondent should be considered as having been
 inspected. We fully considered this question in Matter of B—,
 L & N. Dec. 599 (1962), and concluded that an alien who gained
 admission to the United States by making a knowing and willful
 false claim to citizenship has not been inspected as an alien and is
 not eligible under section 245. As stated in Matter of F—, 

, a decision of a Regional Commissioner on September 16,
 1960 citing two unreported decisions of this Board, there is an
 exception tu this rule where the alien did not willfully make . a false
 claim to citizenship and honestly believed that she was a United
 States citizen when she applied for admission. However, the record shows clearly that the respondent is not within• this exception
 and counsel has not contended otherwise. The respondent was over
 18 years of age when he entered the United States on November 29,
 1949. It appears from his application under section 245 and from
his testimony at the hearing on February 4, 1966 that his true name
is Gar Hong Woo; that his true father is Chong Lin Woo; that, at
the time of entry, the respondent stated that his own name was Gar
Hong Chin; that he then claimed that his father was Gim Seung
Chin; that the latter was actually his uncle and a United. States
citizen; and that he used the family name Chin instead of his own
family name of Woo in order to enter as the son of a citizen.
   Since we are satisfied that the respondent was aware, at the time
of entry, that he was not a United States citizen and that the false
claim of citizenship was made knowingly and willfully, we hold that
his case is governed by our decision in Matter of 8— , supra, and
that he is not eligible for adjustment of status under section 245 of
the Immigration and Nationality Act. Accordingly, the appeal will
be dismissed. . •
   ORDER: It is ordered that the appeal be and the same is hereby
dismissed. •



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