PRECEDENT DECISION: MENDEZ MALDONADO

(1) The respondent’s admission to possessing and using cocaine makes him inadmissible under section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II) (2024), and hence ineligible for adjustment of status.

(2) Section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II), does not require that the alien be informed of the precise statutory definition with the essential elements of the offense in question prior to making an admission. Matter of K-, 7 I&N Dec. 594 (BIA 1957), and Matter of J-, 2 I&N Dec. 285 (BIA 1945), overruled.