Odinaka Ethelberth Nwosu v. Todd Blanche

── Odinaka Ethelberth Nwosu v. Todd Blanche ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: May 29, 2026 Category: General RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 26a0158p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT ┐ ODINAKA ETHELBERTH NWOSU, │ Petitioner, │ > No. 25-3831 │ v. │ │ TODD W. BLANCHE, Acting U.S. Attorney General, │ Respondent. │ ┘ On Petition for Review from the Board of Immigration Appeals. No. A 099 158 417. Decided and Filed: May 29, 2026 Before: SUTTON, Chief Judge; LARSEN, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ON BRIEF: Glenn Eric Sproull, PALMER REY, PLLC, Southfield, Michigan, for Petitioner. Jennifer P. Williams, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. _________________ OPINION _________________ MURPHY, Circuit Judge. After the government sought to remove Odinaka Ethelberth Nwosu to Nigeria, he requested withholding of removal and cancellation of removal. To support his withholding-of-removal claim, Nwosu alleged that individuals in Nigeria had kidnapped his father back in 2004. To support his cancellation-of-removal claim, Nwosu alleged that his removal would significantly harm his children. But an immigration judge rejected his withholding claim because he did not corroborate his testimony about the kidnapping with other  No. 25-3831 Nwosu v. Blanche Page 2 evidence. And the judge rejected his cancellation claim because he did not introduce evidence to establish that his partner lacked the means to support their children by herself. Nwosu challenges these conclusions, but his arguments rest on a misunderstanding of the law. We thus deny his petition for review. I Nwosu was born in Nigeria in 1967. He grew up and received a university education there. In 2002, Nwosu came to the United States on a business visa that expired early the next year. He has lived in this country ever since, making his home in Detroit, Michigan. Two years after his entry, Nwosu obtained his current job working for a company that helps children and the elderly. He also got married soon after his arrival. Nwosu’s wife filed a petition that would allow him to remain here, but they separated in 2007. He then met his current partner, a U.S. citizen who was also born in Nigeria. The couple live together with their three children. They each contribute to paying the family’s expenses. Nwosu’s partner works full-time as a nurse in the intensive care unit of a Detroit hospital. In 2010, the government issued Nwosu a notice to appear in removal proceedings. It charged him with being deportable for remaining in the country after his visa expired. See 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(B). Nwosu conceded that he was deportable. And he conceded that he could not apply for asylum because he did not seek that relief in time. See id. § 1158(a)(2)(B). But Nwosu applied for cancellation of removal and withholding of removal. (He also applied for relief under the Convention Against Torture. But he has