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032835P.pdf   08/04/2004  Walid A. A. Ghounem  v.  John Ashcroft
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  03-2835
   Agency   
   Petition for review - Immigration. Strong presumption of effective 
   delivery of notice of hearing which was appropriate under former statute that 
   required service on the alien through certified mail should not be applied 
   under the new statute which allows notice to be sent by regular mail; as a 
   result, under the new statute there is a weaker presumption of delivery 
   which can be rebutted through lesser evidentiary proof; here, the 
   evidence petitioner put forth - attendance at all prior proceedings and 
   affidavit swearing he did not receive notice of hearing - was sufficient to 
   rebut the presumption of delivery created by INS records, and petitioner 
   is entitled to an evidentiary hearing to determine whether he should be 
   permitted to reopen his case. 
   [PUBLISHED] [Melloy, Author, with M. Arnold and McMillian, Circuit Judges]